The 11 Jewish victims of the Oct. 27 mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue were remembered on Long Island on Sunday night as 11 Pittsburgh police officers, who were among the first responders to the tragedy, as a team helped light the menorah at Chabad of Roslyn on Long Island, N.Y.
Local officials and law-enforcement authorities also attended the lighting, which was billed as a show of solidarity with the Pittsburgh community and a display of Jewish pride in the face of rising anti-Semitism in North America and Europe, especially.
“The light of the menorah reminds us that when the forces of light and good encounter darkness and hate, without fail, light will always prevail,” said Rabbi Aaron Konikov, director of Chabad of Roslyn. “The nature of light is that it is always victorious over darkness. If one hate-filled person created such darkness and pain, imagine the impact of so many more people united in doing good.”
In addition to the menorah-lighting, which paid tribute to the victims and honored the officers who risked their lives to save others, traditional Hanukkah treats and lively music were featured.
The Roslyn public menorah—the tallest on Long Island—is one of more than 15,000 public menorahs in 100 countries and in hundreds of cities across all 50 states, including Pittsburgh, where a menorah-lighting took place in the heart of the Squirrel Hill neighborhood where the fatal shooting took place. That event, too, remembered the victims and paid tribute to first responders.
On Tuesday night, a car-menorah parade of about 100 cars will pass through the neighborhood, ending at a festival at a local outdoor mall. Several thousand are expected to attend that celebration, as Hanukkah celebrations across the United States and Europe see record numbers of attendees this year in response to an uptick in anti-Semitic behavior.
This article originally appeared on Chabad.org/News.
