by Ken Reid
Thursday night is the final night of Chanukah, the eight-day Festival of Lights that I (and millions of Jews across the world) celebrate, to mark the miracle that occurred when the 2nd temple was restored following a rebellion by religious Jews against secular Hellenistic Jews and their Greek-Syrian allies in the 160’s BCE.
Because of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, in which 1,200 Israelis and other nationals were murdered by Hamas thugs, Chanukah has a really special meaning this year – bringing “light” to conquer the “dark” (i.e. Hamas).
But while the ongoing war has united Israelis, and probably most Jews worldwide, there is a deep divide in the U.S. and other nations on whether Israel’s response in Gaza is inhumane; some 18,000 Gazans have died in Israel Defense Force (IDF) aerial bombing and ground attacks. The pressure, mostly from the far Left, for a permanent ceasefire keeps pressing on,
Enter the controversy about lighting a menorah in public at a recent Williamsburg arts festival.
There, the board of the festival voted not to allow CHABAD of Williamsburg to light a menorah at the festival, thinking it was a one-sided political statement for Israel. Arguments also were made that this is a religious holiday, and the festival was to be secular – although Christmas decorations and Christmas stuff abounded there But then a sop was thrown at Rabbi Mendy Heber to have a pro- ceasefire message there as equal time.
Kerry Dougherty’s article on the controversy is here but a more detailed article in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency is worth reading. too
Chabad moved the menorah lighting to the William & Mary campus, but the incident went viral. Gov. Glenn Youngkin denounced the arts festival’s ban and Chabad has complained to the Virginia attorney general’s anti-Semitism task force.
Is the menorah a religious or political symbol, both, or neither? Continue reading