Menorah display not allowed on Tyler square

SMITH COUNTY — An East Texas county rules that a Jewish menorah cannot be displayed on a public square. Commissioners in Smith County decided not to permit the display of the Jewish symbol during the observance of Hanukkah. County Judge Neal Franklin said in recent years the county has allowed only secular holiday decorations on the downtown Tyler Square to avoid lawsuits and demands from fringe religious groups demanding to display symbols. Tyler Rabbi Neal Katz says the menorah has been displayed in the past without controversy, but the display broke a few years ago and was only replaced this year. Katz says the decision is “antagonistic” to the Tyler Jewish community.