Chanukah Light, Australia in Darkness |
The final night of Chanukah always coincided with the Hebrew birthday of my late grandmother, Bubba, and so that was when we celebrated it. Bubba survived six concentration and labour camps and fought alongside my grandfather in the Białystok Ghetto uprising in 1943. She remained a fighter to the very end.
As always, but especially since October 7, 2023 I draw on their strength, resilience, and tenacity in more ways than one.
Tonight, as we light the nine candles of Chanukah, eight for the days of the festival, and the ninth, the shamash, for lighting the others, our chanukiah [menorah] will hold eight yellow candles and one blue. The yellow candles honour the victims of the Bondi Chanukah terrorist attack and the blue, the people of Israel.
Light is a symbol of hope amid darkness, a reminder that hate can be overcome. From the Maccabees’ improbable victory over the Seleucid Empire more than 2,000 years ago when the reclaimed Temple in Jerusalem burned for eight days on a single day’s supply of oil to the pogroms of Europe, the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust, and the resurgence of antisemitism over the past two years, light has always shone brighter than darkness.
Yet today, that light feels fragile. Many fear that Prime Minister Albanese and his government, alongside their ideological allies, are placing politics above their duty to keep Australians safe. While declaring a National Day of Reflection and moments of silence, the government continues to preside over decisions that leave our communities........