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‘A flame of faith that endures’: Biden’s Hanukkah party centers on the Oct. 7 massacre
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Joe Biden had a menorah custom-made from a White House beam, but it was another menorah from thousands of miles away that elicited the most powerful reaction at the annual White House Hanukkah party Monday night.
Partygoers making their way up to the mansion’s residence, where the celebration took place, passed a landing where a smaller menorah was on display, one recovered from the rubble of a home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the villages targeted in Hamas’ terror attack on Israel two months ago.
“This menorah miraculously survived the October 7th massacre against the people of Israel,” said a framed plaque with the White House insignia.
The grief of the Oct. 7 massacre, and the determination to prevent its recurrence, permeated the festivities Monday night, where Biden welcomed more than 800 guests — the White House’s largest party of the season.
“From the Maccabees defeating one of history’s most powerful empires, and oil lasting eight days – it’s as a miracle all by itself, a flame of faith that endures from tragedy to persecution, to survival and to hope,” Biden said. “Most of you know someone directly or indirectly, a family friend who was stolen from you or wounded or traumatized, called up for reserve duty after this last attack in Israel.”
Biden stood in the East Room before the main menorah, which was introduced last year by First Lady Jill Biden as the first permanent White House menorah. It was fashioned by resident carpenters from wood left over from a previous renovation to symbolize the permanence of the U.S. Jewish community.
But the focus at this event was Israel, and its meaning to Jews as a bulwark against persecution.
“As I said after the attack, my commitment to the safety of Jewish people, the security of Israel, its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is unshakeable,” he said. “Folks, were there no Israel there wouldn’t be a Jew in the world who was safe.”
The crowd applauded and cheered. A minute later, Biden committed to backing one of Israel’s goals in the war, the eradication of Hamas, implicitly rejecting growing calls from the left, including from some in his party, for a ceasefire.
“We will continue to provide military assistance to Israel until they get rid of Hamas,” he said to more cheers.
Biden alluded to the failure of human rights groups to immediately condemn sexual violence that took place in the Oct. 7 attack.
“Let me be clear, Hamas using rape, sexual violence and terrorism and torture of Israeli women and girls was appalling and unforgivable,” Biden said. “When I was there, I saw some of the photographs, it was beyond” – Biden paused — “just beyond comprehension.”
Biden addressed the shock of many Jews after the attack, compounded by the isolation many felt when they did not hear condemnations from the left. He thanked Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Jewish Democratic Senate majority leader from New York, for his recent speech in the Senate excoriating many in his own party for playing down the significance of the massacre.
“I also recognize your hurt from the silence and the fear for your safety,” he said. “There’s a surge of antisemitism in the United States of America and around the world. It’s sickening. I know we see it across our communities in schools and colleges on social media. They surface painful scars from millennia.”
CNN reported that families of U.S. citizens still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza asked to be invited to the event, but were turned down. The White House declined to comment.
Lighting the menorah on the fifth night of Hanukkah was Doug Emhoff, the Jewish second gentleman, and four white staffers who were descended from Holocaust survivors. Biden met before the ceremony with five Holocaust survivors. He told the crowd that when his children and grandchildren come of age, he flies them to Germany to tour the Dachau concentration camp.
“I want them to see, I want them to spend the day there and see, you can’t pretend you don’t know: silence is complicity,” he said.
The plaque in front of the Kfar Aza menorah echoed Biden’s speech. “It is a reminder of the flame of faith that endures from tragedy and persecution, and is a symbol of the Jewish people’s eternal spirit of resilience and hope that continues to shine its light on the world,” it said.
Across from the Kfar Aza menorah, a military band played Jewish music throughout the evening. In another corner of the entrance hall, the U.S. Air Force Jewish Cadet Choir performed.
“This song is dedicated to the hostages,” the choirmaster said as people made their way upstairs.
The chorus launched into “Acheinu,” a Jewish prayer for those in harm’s way, to a melody by the Canadian songwriter Abie Rotenberg.
“Our brethren, all of Israel, subject to sorrow and to captivity, caught between the land and the sea,” they sang in Hebrew.
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The post ‘A flame of faith that endures’: Biden’s Hanukkah party centers on the Oct. 7 massacre appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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United Nations ‘Condemns’ Israel for Responding to Houthi Attacks, Decries ‘Escalation’ of Violence
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
In its latest salvo against the Jewish state, the United Nations (UN) condemned Israel for executing retaliatory strikes against the Houthi terror group in Yemen.
“The Secretary-General condemns escalation between Yemen and Israel,” Stéphanie Tremblay, a UN spokesperson, said in Thursday statements on behalf of UN Secretary General António Guterres.
“The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about intensified escalation in Yemen and Israel. Israeli airstrikes today on Sana’a International Airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations in Yemen are especially alarming. The airstrikes reportedly resulted in numerous casualties including at least three killed and dozens more injured” Tremblay added.
On Thursday, Israel launched a barrage of missile attacks on Houthi bases in Yemen, provoking international outrage. Israel targeted a major airport in Sanaa and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, and power stations, locations the Jewish state claims were used by the terror group to sneak in both Iranian weapons and high-ranking Iranian officials.
On Friday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an airstrike aimed at Ben Gurion airport, claiming that the attacks were carried out in retaliation against Israel’s targeting of Sana’a International airport.
The Israeli strikes followed days of Houthi missile and drone launches towards the Jewish state’s airspace. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked the Jewish state in the year following the Oct. 7 slaughters in Israel. Officials associated with terrorist organization claims that it will continue to attack Israel until the so-called “genocide” in Gaza ceases.
In reference to the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.”
Israeli officials have long accused the UN of having a bias against the Jewish state. Last year, the UN General Assembly condemned Israel twice as often as it did all other countries. Meanwhile, of all the country-specific resolutions passed by the UNHRC, nearly half have condemned Israel, a seemingly disproportionate focus on the lone democracy in the Middle East.
Weeks following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, the UN adopted a resolution calling for a “ceasefire” between Israel and the terrorist group. The UN failed to pass a measure condemning the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7.
In June, the UN put Israel on its so-called “list of shame” of countries that kill children in armed conflict. Israel is considered to be the only democracy on the list.
The post United Nations ‘Condemns’ Israel for Responding to Houthi Attacks, Decries ‘Escalation’ of Violence first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Amuggling
Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike in southern Lebanon village, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, Oct. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jim Urquhar
Israeli jets struck seven crossing points along the Syria-Lebanon border on Friday, aiming to cut the flow of weapons to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon.
Israeli troops also seized a truck mounted with a 40-barrel rocket launcher in southern Lebanon, part of a haul from various areas that included explosives, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 automatic rifles, the military said.
The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, said Hezbollah was trying to smuggle weapons into Lebanon to test Israel’s ability to stop them.
“This must not be tolerated,” he said in a statement.
Under the terms of a Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement, Israel is supposed to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon in phases while unauthorised Hezbollah military facilities south of the Litani River are to be dismantled.
However, each side has accused the other of violating the agreement, intended to end more than a year of fighting that began with Hezbollah missile strikes on Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, from Gaza.
On Thursday, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon called for Israeli forces to withdraw, citing what it said were repeated violations of the deal.
Israel, which destroyed large parts of Hezbollah’s missile stocks during weeks of operations in southern Lebanon, has said it will not permit weapons to be smuggled to Hezbollah through Syria.
Israel has also conducted attacks against the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen in recent days and pledged to continue its campaign against Iranian-backed militant groups across the region.
The post Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Amuggling first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Mila Kunis Says Husband Ashton Kutcher And Their Children Helped Her Embrace Judaism: ‘I Fell in Love With My Religion’
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis at the 9th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California, on April 16, 2023. Photo: Cover Media via Reuters Connect
Actress Mila Kunis began embracing and feeling proud of her Jewish heritage when she met her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, and even more so after having children, she told Israeli activist and author Noa Tishby this week.
“For me, it happened when I met my husband,” the “Goodrich” star, 41, said of her former “That ’70s Show” costar, 46, who she has been married to since 2015.
Although Kutcher is not Jewish, he was a follower of Kabbalah and was frequently photographed visiting the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles when he was married to actress Demi Moore from 2005-2013. Their wedding was also reportedly officiated by a Kabbalah Centre teacher. It remains unclear if he continues to follow Kabbalah. Nevertheless, Kunis joked that Kutcher is Jewish “by choice,” not by lineage, and that his interest in Judaism sparked Kunis to reconnect with her Jewish roots.
“I fell in love with my religion because he explained it to me,” said Kunis, who voices Meg Griffin on the Fox animated series “Family Guy.”
Kunis made the comments while joining Tishby to light candles on Thursday for the second night of Hanukkah. The two joined forces as part of Tishby’s “#BringOnTheLight campaign,” which is an eight-part video series on YouTube dedicated to spreading the message of Jewish resilience, pride and unity throughout the Jewish holiday.
Kunis and Kutcher together have two children — daughter Wyatt, 10, and son Dimitri, 8. The actress was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and moved to the United States at the age of eight. She told Tishby that she did not adhere to any Jewish traditions while growing up. “I always knew I was Jewish but I was told to never talk about,” she said. “I think because I was in a country that didn’t allow for religion.” The “Bad Moms” star added that her children also helped her tap into the religious side of Judaism.
“I was raised culturally Jewish. So for me, it’s a culture,” she said. “And as I had kids, and my kids very much identity with the religion aspect of it, I was like, ‘Oh, I guess we’re doing Shabbat and the candles. And there are so many beautiful traditions.”
“I never lit Hanukkah candles until I had kids,” she further noted.
When Kunis lit the menorah with Tishby for the second night of Hanukkah, they called Kutcher for some help. Both women were unsure if they needed to light the candles from left to right or from right to left, and asked Kutcher for guidance.
Kunis also talked about being raised with a lot of Jewish guilt and superstition. Listing another things that are culturally Jewish about her, she shared, “I have a fear of not having enough food and my fear of somebody being hungry. The worst thing my kids can say to me is, ‘I’m hungry.’”
“Food fixes everything. You’re tired, eat some food. You’re cranky, eat some food,” she joked. “A health person would say, ‘This is unhealthy and you’re doing something wrong.’ And I understand. I’m working on it. But it’s just something that is embedded in me.”
The post Mila Kunis Says Husband Ashton Kutcher And Their Children Helped Her Embrace Judaism: ‘I Fell in Love With My Religion’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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