Tensions flared at a Victorian council meeting after a councillor effectively blocked a motion for the public display of a Jewish Hanukkah menorah.

Hanukkah is an annual Jewish celebration that marks the miracle of the oil—an occasion where people of the Jewish faith believe God once allowed a single day’s worth of oil to burn for eight nights.

The event is marked by lighting a special menorah every night over the celebration’s eight days, and large menorahs are often placed in public to add to the festivities.

But the council electorate of Stonnington, which encompasses inner-city Melbourne suburbs including Toorak and Prahran, will likely have no public menorah lit this year.

Toorak Ward Councillor Tom Humphries had submitted a motion to the council’s ordinary meeting on Dec. 1 that called for “the installation of a menorah at Malvern Town Hall for the duration of Hannukah 2025 and directs the CEO to ensure that the 2026-29 festive summer program includes provision for a menorah at Malvern Town Hall and considers supporting any other significant cultural celebrations.”

But East Ward Councillor Steve Stefanopoulos successfully convinced the chamber to vote to defer a decision on Humphries’ motion, potentially blocking the menorah because Hanukkah will be held from Dec. 14–22 and the next council meeting will be more than a month away.

Stefanopoulos denied he was against the menorah, Hanukkah, or the Jewish people in cancelling out the motion.

“The issue is ... because the councillors have not had the opportunity to discuss the matter and seek advice from the officers and debate the issue within a council briefing as happens with every other item that does come to council, that’s my issue,” he said.

“I want to know all the facts, the possibilities, the options that we have and for it to come back to council for further discussion.”

Humphries rebutted the reasoning behind Stefanopoulos’ deferral motion.

“The grounds provided for the deferral motion are nonsensical,” he said.

“They are an absolute affront to the Jewish community.”

Humphries argued his motion had been submitted in an ordinary way that was not uncommon for councillors making a decision.

“It’s been through the right forums, councillors have had the opportunity to [discuss it] … There is no difference to the amount of time that is offered for an alternative motion,” he said.

“We knocked an entire floor off a building with less than an hour’s notice.

“Cut back to the budget, we spent an extra $100,000 without 20 minutes’ notice.

“These things did not have the appropriate breathing time as per Councillor Stefanopoulos’ time.”

After some arguments back and forth, Humphries was cautioned by Mayor Melina Sehr for using the word “grotesque” to describe the deferral motion.

He then said it was “nothing short of anti-Semitic” to withdraw the motion, before Stefanopoulos started loudly yelling at Humphries over his claim.

Humphries voluntarily withdrew the statement after the council ruled it defamatory.

Stefanopoulos’ deferral was ultimately passed by the council majority.

Tooroonga Ward Councillor Jamie Bell said the council’s decision to defer the motion had served to increase anxiety among the Jewish people.

“I think it is an affront to the Jewish community ... I think this is a ploy,” he said.

Malvern Valley Ward Councillor Jami Klisaris then spoke, saying the event had caused her distress.

“I have never heard that sort of language in 13 years on council as I have in the chamber tonight,” she said.

“I’m actually finding it difficult to speak.”

Klisaris denied there were racial undertones to the decision, saying she was only concerned about procedure.

Council Urged to Reverse Decision

Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory said it was concerning that the council had acted “so dismissively” towards its Jewish residents.

“The local Jewish community wants to acknowledge an important religious festival and fully cover the cost themselves and has been thwarted by Stonnington Council,” he told The Epoch Times.

“In the past, we have spoken out against the war on Christmas and this looks an awful lot like a war on Hanukkah.”

Gregory said he didn’t believe other minority groups would receive the same response.

“We stand with the Rabbi and the local Jewish community and urge Stonnington council to reverse its decision,” he said.