Free Republic

The mayor of Westbrook says he will not run for another term and, in fact, will never run for public office again. Michael Foley, who was just elected last year, tells Maine's Total Coverage he has been harassed, including receiving threatening emails and phone calls related to a recent holiday lights controversy. Earlier this month, the city removed a Star of David from its Riverwalk light display and replaced it with a dreidel. The star is a historic religious symbol in Judaism. Foley says it was removed based on legal requirements that prevent government entities from appearing to endorse a...

This week, Jewish children all over the world will gamble for nuts or coins using a specially marked four-sided top, a dreidel. In Yiddish, the four dreidel letters stand for words nearly identical to those used in a similar game once played by German-speaking children. Nun: nichts. Nothing happens. Pass the top to the next player. Shin: shtel. Put one extra token into the pot. Hey: halb. Take half the pot. Gimmel: ganz. All! Win the whole pot. In Hebrew, though, the four dreidel letters aren't just game instructions but an abbreviation particularly appropriate to the Hanukkah celebration. Nes gadol...