GRINCH CAUSES SCENE (closeup of the American melting pot)

NY POST ^ | 12/10/05 | DEVIN SMITH

[Liz]

A LAWSUIT IS BORN: The furor over this Nativity scene....comes just days after a Christmas/holiday-tree flap in Manhasset..... Photo: Veronique Louis

Mitchell Pashkin sought a court order to take down both seasonal symbols because they indicated the town was promoting religion. "This isn't an attack on Christmas. It's not about Christianity itself. This is solely about respect for the law. This is about the Bill of Rights," he said.

The dispute threatened to cast a pall over last night's tree-lighting ceremony at Huntington Village Green, where officials were to switch on lights on a 50-foot tree, just above the Nativity scene and menorah.

But in court, U.S. District Judge Leonard Wexler urged the two sides not to make a federal case out of it and reach a compromise instead.

They did: Town officials agreed to post signs showing clearly that both symbols were not provided by the town but donated privately........

The Huntington flap comes after a dispute erupted in Manhasset, where a town supervisor, who is Jewish, objected to a Catholic priest's blessing at a tree-lighting ceremony last week.

After the Rev. Nick Zientarski's blessing, North Hempstead Supervisor John Kaiman told the crowd, "This is in no way a religious ceremony," and that it wasn't a Christmas tree, but a "holiday tree."

Yesterday, Kaiman said, "I overreacted. I was trying not to offend anybody and ended up offending everybody."

Kaiman, who was just re-elected, said he and "Father Nick" are getting along so well now that he asked the priest to swear him in when he begins a new term on Jan. 2.

[Liz]

Heheh. Good idea.....stay ahead of the creeps. Might also be a good idea to keep a Cross handy. Scares away the bloodsuckers.

[Hildy]

I'm surprised it took so long for this to happen on Long Island, which has a very large Jewish population. At least it did when I was born there.