Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah amid rise in anti-Semitic crime
Happy Hanukkah #HappyHanukkah
The celebration of Hanukkah is officially underway, and the ‘Festival of Lights’ in the Jewish faith is one of the world’s oldest traditions.
The holiday celebrates the survival of the Jewish people amid hate; meanwhile, the United States is experiencing a spike in antisemitism.
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“Hanukkah is a joyous holiday,” Rabbi Yisroel Mangel said. It’s a holiday we celebrate religious freedom.”
Mangel is with the Chabad Jewish Center, and on Sunday night, he lit the candle on the first night of Hanukkah.
“The proper and the best response to antisemitism is always ‘Jewish pride,'” Rabbi Yisroel Mangel said.
Dozens of people gathered alongside him in Summit Park in Blue Ash. After the menorah lighting, people prayed, sang, and enjoyed latkes, doughnuts, hot dogs, games, prizes and Chanukah crafts.
Mindy Nemoff recalled what this holiday season means to her.
“It means celebrating with family and friends and the wonderful memories of when I was a child,” Nemoff said. “There wasn’t as much the antisemitism that I felt as a child.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitism hit a record last year in the United States, with similar numbers in 2022.
In recent months, there has been a surge in antisemitic actions in the Greater Cincinnati area. In October, three men vandalized a sukkah, a ritual structure, at the Hillel near the Miami University campus. A month later, also at Miami University, swastikas and antisemitic posters popped up on campus. Two days after that, this time at Ohio State University, parasitic and antisemitic messages were spray painted on campus. Earlier this month, two young men were seen destroying plants and throwing dirt on the Hillel House across the street from the University of Cincinnati.
“It is sick and sad,” Nemoff said. “That’s why it’s much more important to bring light into the world.”
Despite the hate acts, Nemoff and others in the Jewish community are choosing to spread love and pride. Pride has held the Jewish faith together repeatedly for hundreds of years.
“Take your menorahs out, kindle your candle, put it out the front window, and put a happy Hanukkah sign up in front of your house,” Mangel said. “That’s the best response we have to what’s happening in the world today.”
There are a lot of celebrations to commemorate Hanukkah over the next week.
On Monday, Cincinnati’s Jewish Community Relations will dedicate a community menorah at City Hall at 11:30 a.m.
On Wednesday, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati will host “Hanukkah at Fountain Square.”
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