Lower Makefield Township won't hold 9/11 ceremony after sunset because of conflict with Jewish holiday

Officials in Lower Makefield Township, Pennsylvania, have decided not to hold a 9/11 ceremony after sunset at the Garden of Reflection due to it being in conflict with a Jewish holiday.

A township representative said it will move forward with a morning and evening ceremony to pay tribute to the lives lost but will not do what's called the "Remembrance of Light" ceremony because it coincides with Rosh Hashanah. 

Chris Rooney, whose cousin John Sammartino was killed in the terror attack on the Pentagon, said this decision is an insult to the victims and their families. 

"Being able to be there as a participant and as a family member, it means a lot," he said.

Rooney said the late evening ceremony was special to him and many others because it focused on healing.

The motto of the memorial is "After Darkness...Light."

Rooney said the ceremony used that motto to create an event that gave families hope amid their grief.  

"When you go there, and the sun sets, everybody lights the candle. The lights on the memorial go dark; the fountains go down," he said. "The fountains come back up, the fountains are lit. That is out of darkness in the light, basically saying to move forward."

On the township's website, it says attendees are also invited to participate in a candle lighting after the evening ceremony is over.

Rooney said he and others are planning to be at the memorial after sunset to honor the victims, but that it won't be the same as Remembrance in Light. 

Rooney is hoping the township will have a change of heart.