Families urge Lower Makefield to restore evening 9/11 Candlelight Remembrance after permit denial tied to Rosh Hashana

Lower Makefield Township heard emotional appeals June 3 from 9/11 family members and religious leaders asking the board to allow a planned evening Candlelight Remembrance on Sept. 11, 2026, after organizers said the township denied a permit because the date coincides with Rosh Hashana. The board’s public comment period drew letters from rabbis and multiple family members who said observant Jews did not request cancellation and that the evening service is deeply meaningful to survivors.

“Observant Jews did not ask for this ceremony to be denied,” read a letter cited by resident Alan Bar, quoting rabbis who said that remembrance, mourning and compassion are “consistent with the spirit of Rosh Hashana.” Beth Mcnamau read a letter from a 9/11 widow, Debbie Senko Goldman, who said the 25th anniversary carries “a weight unlike any before it” and asked supervisors to allow families to stand together and “hear words of peace and healing.”

Family members at the meeting described the ceremony’s timing and format as central to its purpose. “This year presents an incredibly difficult and emotional circumstance because Sept. 11 falls on the first night of Rosh Hashana,” said Jennifer Ree Silman, who identified herself as a daughter of a supervisor and sister of a 9/11 victim. She urged the board to preserve both the dignity of the memorial and the religious practices of community members, and to avoid deciding for a faith community what is or is not appropriate within a sacred observance.

Organizers and trustees of the Garden of Reflection, which runs the remembrance, told the board the event traditionally begins after sundown and includes prayer, song and the symbolic lighting of candles “from darkness into the light.” They said moving the ceremony earlier or ending formal audiovisual elements at sundown would undermine the intended meaning for families who travel and arrive well before the lighting portion.

Board members and staff pressed for options that would allow families to gather while respecting religious observance. One board member proposed a compromise in which any large audiovisual or ceremonial elements would end by sundown, permitting a quiet candlelight vigil afterward; organizers said that moving the formal portion earlier would be logistically difficult because many families arrive long before the lighting and rely on the evening time for the ceremony’s symbolic effect.

Speakers also described a history of administrative obstacles. Ellen Sarasini, speaking for the Garden of Reflection, recalled past permit conditions and requests – including a demand for extensive financial records – that she said had placed a burden on the volunteer-run nonprofit and delayed the ceremony in previous years.

The board did not vote on the permit at the June 3 meeting. Supervisors directed staff to continue discussions with organizers to try to find an accommodation; several residents urged the board to revisit the decision and, separately, a caller recommended the supervisors consider state-level assistance for more time to craft local rules on related land-use questions.

What happens next: Board members asked staff to continue negotiations with the remembrance organizers and to report back with options that respect religious observance while preserving a meaningful event for families.