Canadian court rules against menorah use

ONTARIO — The federal court of Canada has ruled a stylized Jewish menorah cannot be used by a Christian missionary group as an official symbol.

The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) said it was thrilled by the decision. The decision reversed a 1999 ruling by Canada’s Registrar of Trademarks that allowed the group, which tries to convert Jews to Christianity, to use its menorah symbol as an “official mark” on ball caps, mugs and calendars.

“The menorah, the ancient seven-branched candelabrum, is one of the most hallowed emblems of the Jewish faith and the shared symbol of Jews around the world,” the CJC’s Jonathan Kroft said.

Kroft said the decision by Federal Court of Appeal Judge Pierre Blais, “ensures no single organization can claim the menorah as its exclusive property and that the menorah’s use most certainly cannot be denied to synagogues, Jewish organizations and Jewish persons.”

Chosen People Ministries of Canada, which has several hundred members, is devoted to trying to convince Jews that Jesus Christ is the Messiah they have been seeking.