ביטול טקסי הדלקת חנוכיות ברחבי העולם

The Jewish people will begin celebrating Hanukkah tomorrow, but cities around the world are under fire for canceling menorah lightings and removing Jewish symbols. That includes an art festival in Williamsburg, Virginia, where organizers say they don't want to appear as if they're taking a side on the ongoing war. Joining us now to dive into this, we have Rabbi Abraham Cooper. He chairs the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He's also associate dean at the Simon Weisenthal Center. And joining us now is Rabbi Abraham Cooper. So it seems like many menorah lightings are being canceled around the world as towns remove Jewish symbols over the Hamas war. In some festivals, organizers are saying that it's taking sides, potentially, to allow menorah lighting. What are your thoughts on that? Well, Don, you've raised a number of issues. We are talking about fundamental religious freedoms here, but also uniquely in the United States, because the Jewish festival of Hanukkah that celebrates the victory of a few over many thousands of years ago in the land of Israel, and the other festival for Christians happen to coincide in the same month. The theme of Hanukkah is light over darkness, and Jews around the world, especially kids because they get presents, they play games, etc., look forward all year to Hanukkah. And for the adults, it's a reminder about Jewish life and of Jewish history and Jewish destiny. In so far as some of the cancellations, I think in part there are some people who thought, well, maybe because there's a war going on right now in the Middle East and someone will be upset. It's absolutely the wrong message at the wrong time to the wrong people. The people who want to shut down the Jewish people, who want to eliminate us, are groups like Hamas. They've said openly that their goal is to genocide Israel, get rid of the Jewish people. So the notion that in some way you have to be sensitive to that worldview simply doesn't make any sense. Once you start connecting the local Jewish communities and local Christians and others to events that are taking place around the world, which they have no control of, and basically say, no, no, you can no longer be part of the public square of celebration of our diversity and our universal and meticulous values, that's absolutely a victory for groups like Hamas. It will only further embolden groups that are seeking to bully Jewish individuals, intimidate them and silence them. And Hanukkah's message is the exact opposite. Stand up with dignity for your own values, respect others, but expect in return that they will respect you. And I think once decision makers in different cities in Canada and the U.S. understood what Hanukkah's all about, most, if not all, have reversed those decisions. And we welcome those reversals.