Jewish and Israeli Holidays
“I am horrified by the stabbing of multiple people at a synagogue in Rockland County,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “We have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism in New York, and we will hold the attacker accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The attack took place inside the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg after he had lit the menorah on the seventh night of the holiday.
It’s made up of 18k gold with the same amount of white gold for the lettering of the Hebrew letters on four sides, with 222 modern round brilliant diamonds decorated on the lettering.
Family members of the victims lit a small silver menorah on the first night of the holiday in front of the store, which remains closed.
“You are the wonders and miracles of our time,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin tells the men and women of Unit 504, Israel’s premier human intelligence unit.
Tel Aviv-based food journalist Janna Gur explains her holiday preference for savory beet-potato latkes over sweet “sufganiyot.” (Recipe included!)
At the ceremony, the Israeli premier referred to the story of Hanukkah and compared the Jewish war of liberation against the anti-Semitic Greeks to the ICC’s recent announcement of a forthcoming investigation of Israel for “war crimes.”
“The light of religious freedom and tolerance is ever brighter,” said U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. “And so, we gather here in the glow of that light and the Festival of Lights.”
Main festivities, with thousands of Jews expected to attend, are to take place in Kiev, Odessa, Dnepr, Lviv and Kharkov.
In Eastern Europe, the revival of Jewish life is on full display.
The annual ceremony celebrates its 40th year; it was first lit in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, and has been erected and lit every year since.
The menorah, which was donated by a Dutch Christian organization, is a symbol of the “tremendous support” for Gaza border residents “from friends of Israel across the globe,” says Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog.
