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Left-wing Jews usher in Hanukkah in NY with rally demanding a ceasefire and mourning Gaza casualties
(New York Jewish Week) – Hundreds marched around Columbus Circle in the biting cold on Thursday night, holding electric candles and signs calling for a ceasefire, as they sang a biblical verse calling for the end of war as a tuba and a drum played along.
The activists then raised a 9-foot tall menorah emblazoned with the word “ceasefire” in multi-colored lights, each letter adorning one of the nine candle stems, ushering in the Hanukkah holiday with pleas for a halt to the Israel-Hamas war.
“We light our Hanukkah candles in public, we put them in our windows and in our town square to proudly display our Jewish heritage and to call upon the miracles of this time of year,” Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari of the Philadelphia synagogue Kol Tzedek told the crowd. “We are each here to kindle the lights of Hanukkah and to call, together, for a ceasefire.”
The event on the first night of Hanukkah also took place exactly two months after Hamas began the war with an invasion of Israel that killed 1,200, largely civilians, and took more than 240 hostages. In the period since then, some of the groups organizing Thursday’s menorah lighting have led frequent rallies in New York City, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere calling for an immediate ceasefire — blocking entrances to buildings and bridges and sometimes ending in dozens of arrests.
Their advocacy, so far, hasn’t met its goal. Israel rejects ceasefire calls because they would leave Hamas in power in Gaza, and Hamas has continued to rain rockets on Israel and hold more than 130 hostages. The United States has backed Israel’s military campaign.
Left-wing activists rally in support of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on the first night of Hannukah in Columbus Circle, New York City, Dec. 7, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Israel recently began focusing its firepower on the Gaza city of Khan Younis, where Hamas’ leadership is believed to be based. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 17,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting — a number that does not differentiate between civilians and combatants or denote deaths from misfired Palestinian rockets.
And while only 37% of New Yorkers approve of Israel’s war effort, according to a recent poll, the Jewish ceasefire activists have the support of only a minority of their own community: 72% of Jewish New Yorkers support Israel’s war effort, while only 19% disapprove.
”I think people are spiritually depleted and morally depleted and it’s really painful to open the news every day and see what’s happening on the ground in Gaza,” said Rabbi Alisa Wise, the lead organizer of the recently-founded Rabbis for Ceasefire. That group was one of the organizers of the event along with IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and a new group called Shoresh. Many of those groups have called for a ceasefire since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and have focused their criticism on Israel, accusing it of “genocide.”
Wise said many on the Jewish left are “exhausted and depressed” by the war and find protest activities draining, but also feel the urge to make their voices heard. She added that there is also “this sense of determination, and now that we’ve seen what we’re capable of and what we can do it really feels like people are going to not stop pushing.”
At the entrance to the gathering, three towering banners bore the words “ceasefire,” “justice” and “peace” in Hebrew, English and Arabic, near tattered posters of Israeli hostages on lamp poles. Some in the crowd wore keffiyehs and several carried Palestinian flags. Alongside the Jewish public figures who attended the event — among them the commentator Peter Beinart and actor Wallace Shawn — one of the speakers was Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour.
Organizers said 700 people attended the rally. In between the speeches, the crowd chanted the blessings upon lighting the menorah and sang songs calling for peace.
In Israel and elsewhere, supporters of the country’s war in Gaza have pointed to the story of Hanukkah — a small Jewish army defeating a foe that sought to destroy it — as a historical parallel to the current conflict. On Thursday, a rabbi in a suburb of New York City wrote on Facebook that taking the holiday as an opportunity to call for a ceasefire is “absolutely ridiculous, since Chanukah is literally a celebration of a military victory against an enemy that wanted to wipe out Judaism in Israel. Sound familiar?!”
Wise told the New York Jewish Week that the holiday presents an opportunity to fortify the Jewish left — and said that her group focuses on the way the rabbis of the Talmud approached the holiday. A passage in the Talmud describing Hanukkah includes only a passing reference to the military victory and instead stresses the miracle of one day’s worth of oil lighting a menorah for eight days.
“We were thinking about the way the rabbis really deemphasized the militarism and emphasized the miracle,” Wise said. “Those rabbis were leading us away from the militarism. They brought the story of [the] miracle, and we’re thinking about that.”
Like Jews across the United States, Wise’s group has adapted the holiday’s messages and rituals to the current moment. The group issued a guide for the holiday with different kavanot, or intentions, for each night’s candle lighting, including focusing on themes such as courage, healing and peace, and has sought to lean into the holiday’s themes of miracles and spreading light.
Left-wing activists rally in support of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on the first night of Hannukah in Columbus Circle, New York City, Dec. 7, 2023. (Luke Tress)
“Every year we return to this holiday and we have the opportunity to figure out this year, what from the tradition do we need, what thread do we need to pull?” she said. “So that’s how we’re approaching it this year.”
The war has also sparked a surge in antisemitism in New York and elsewhere in the U.S., according to law enforcement and Jewish security groups, and rising hate crimes have heightened tensions and fears surrounding the conflict. Speakers at the rally decried the increase in antisemitism and Islamophobia, which has also increased, although to a much lesser extent.
“This is a holiday that’s about light in the darkness. Even in the darkest, coldest time of year we bring this light in,” Wise said. “As we light, we bring the possibility of the ceasefire movement growing and a possibility of peace and justice closer.”
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The post Left-wing Jews usher in Hanukkah in NY with rally demanding a ceasefire and mourning Gaza casualties appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa and Naama Levy named as Israeli hostages to go free on Saturday
Ben Sales reports on Friday for JTA. Stay tuned for more exclusive coverage related to Jewish Canadians from The CJN.
Hamas has published the names of the four hostages it will release on Saturday, the second group of captives to go free in the initial phase of the ceasefire that began this week.
The four hostages expected to be released on Saturday are Daniela Gilboa, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev. All are Israeli soldiers, an apparent breach of Hamas’ agreement with Israel, which stipulated that civilian women be released first. The four hostages are all expected to come out alive after nearly 500 days in captivity since they were abducted in Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
The impending release of the four soldiers also means that the two civilian women still in captivity—Arbel Yehud and Shiri Bibas—will not go free on Saturday.
Yehud is thought to be held by Islamic Jihad, another Gaza terror group. Israel had reportedly demanded her release this week. No sign of life has publicly been disclosed about her since the Oct. 7 attack.
Bibas was abducted with her children Kfir and Ariel. Hamas said early in the war that all three members of the Bibas family had been killed, but Israel has not confirmed that allegation.
Agam Berger, a female Israel soldier, is also still being held hostage. A hostage released in November 2023 said Berger, who had started her army service two days before she was taken hostage, was alive in captivity.
After the four women are released, a total of 90 hostages will still be held in Gaza, dozens of whom have been confirmed to be dead. Hamas was due to provide details as to the condition of some of them, though the extent of that information remains unclear.
The release on Saturday is due to come six days after Hamas released Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, all civilian women. In exchange, Israel released some 90 Palestinian security prisoners, and is due to release dozens more in exchange for the four hostages returning to Israel on Saturday.
The release of the three hostages on Sunday occasioned celebration and relief across Israel, which has collectively held its breath ahead of Saturday’s expected release. Most Israelis are in favor of the ceasefire deal, but it has also drawn opposition because it includes the release of convicted Palestinian terrorists and potentially an end to Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. President Donald Trump has pushed for the deal but also sounded skeptical about it lasting.
The hostage releases are part of the first stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, which began on Sunday and is due to last six weeks. Over the course of that period, Hamas is to release a total of 33 hostages, most of whom are thought to be alive.
The second stage of the ceasefire, which has yet to be negotiated, would see Israel fully withdraw from Gaza in exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages. A third stage would see the rest of the hostages be released as reconstruction of Gaza begins.
The post Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa and Naama Levy named as Israeli hostages to go free on Saturday appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Oklahoma Legislator Introduces Bill to Adopt IHRA Definition of Antisemitism
The Tulsa, Oklahoma skyline. Photo: Photomakers/Wikimedia.
Oklahoma State Rep. John Waldron, a Democrat elected in Tulsa, has introduced legislation that would use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to guide state employees in assessing bigotry against Jews.
Rising antisemitism on college campuses motivated Waldron to draft a bill to aid schools in identifying hate speech. He said he hoped to “give higher education tools for defining what political speech, and therefore protected under the First Amendment, and hate speech that tends toward violence, and should be dealt with according to administrative procedure is,” according to KTUL ABC 8 in Tulsa.
The legislation, House Bill 2243, was introduced last week and says that “state officials and institutions have a responsibility to protect citizens from acts of hate and bigotry motivated by discriminatory animus, including antisemitism, and must be given the tools to do so; valid monitoring, informed analysis and investigation, and effective policymaking all require uniform definitions.”
Joe Roberts, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, released a statement advocating for the legislation.
“For Jewish Oklahomans, HB 2243 is more than policy — it is a statement that Oklahoma stands firmly with the Jewish community against rising hate,” Roberts said. “By adopting the IHRA definition, Oklahoma is taking a crucial step in ensuring that our community is protected, our voices are heard, and our concerns are taken seriously. The IHRA definition is the gold standard in identifying and addressing antisemitism, and its adoption here will help build a safer and more inclusive Oklahoma for all.”
IHRA — an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries including the US — adopted the “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum, and it is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations. Dozens of US states have also formally adopted it through law or executive action.
According to the definition, antisemitism “is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” It provides 11 specific, contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere. Beyond classic antisemitic behavior associated with the likes of the medieval period and Nazi Germany, the examples include denial of the Holocaust and newer forms of antisemitism targeting Israel such as demonizing the Jewish state, denying its right to exist, and holding it to standards not expected of any other democratic state.
The Oklahoma legislation describes the IHRA definition as “an essential definitional tool used to determine contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and includes useful examples of discriminatory anti-Israel acts that can cross the line into antisemitism.” The bill also notes its usage “by various agencies of the federal government and by over 30 governments around the world.”
Opponents of state legislation to codify into law the IHRA definition often claim that such moves threaten free speech, particularly criticism of Israel. However, the text of Waldron’s bill explicitly counters that objection, stating, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or the Oklahoma Constitution.”
The Oklahoma state legislature has scheduled the bill for its first reading on Feb. 3.
Other states where representatives have worked recently to introduce or pass similar laws utilizing the IHRA definition include New York, Ohio, New Jersey, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and South Dakota, among others. According to the Combat Antisemitism Movement, as of Nov. 1, 2024, 1,262 entities worldwide have adopted the definition, including 45 countries, 37 US state governments, and 96 city and county governments.
In a Wednesday guest column in The Oklahoman, Roberts further advocated for the bill and defended the IHRA definition from its detractors’ conventional argument.
“Critics of the IHRA definition have raised concerns about free speech, arguing that defining antisemitism in law could suppress legitimate criticism of Israel. This is simply not true,” Roberts wrote. “The IHRA definition explicitly states that criticism of Israel, similar to that leveled against any other country, is not antisemitic. What the definition does do is distinguish between legitimate discourse and hateful rhetoric — such as denying Israel’s right to exist, holding Jews collectively responsible for Israel’s actions, or using classic antisemitic tropes to demonize the Jewish state.”
Roberts wrote that Waldron’s legislation “does not criminalize speech, it simply provides guidance for recognizing when antisemitism is at play.” He concluded his column warning that “antisemitism is not just a Jewish issue; it is a threat to the fabric of our society. It is an attack on the values that bind us together as Oklahomans and as Americans. If we are serious about protecting our way of life, we must act now. Pass HB 2243.”
According to the Jewish Virtual Library, 8,800 Jews lived in Oklahoma in 2024, making up 0.22 percent of the state’s population.
Oklahoma Gov. J. Kevin Stitt has urged more Jews to move to Oklahoma and called for his fellow Christians to learn from Jewish traditions. “The Jewish community is welcome in Oklahoma,” he told the New York Post last year. “When you think about the values of who we are as Oklahomans it matches with the Jewish community, family-focused, very faith-focused, entrepreneurial, hard-working.”
Stitt, a self-described “Old Testament-loving Christian,” added, “Christians — we don’t do a good job of bringing the family together and really setting aside electronics and, and really focusing on the Sabbath. You know, one day a week, and I just think that’s something that we can learn a lot from the Jewish community.”
The post Oklahoma Legislator Introduces Bill to Adopt IHRA Definition of Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Former NFL Players Take Solidarity Trip to Israel, Advocate for Release of Hamas Hostages
Tony Richardson, far left, and Nick Lowery, far right, posing for a photo with Israeli President Isaac Herzog during their recent trip to Israel. Photo: The Office of the President of Israel
NFL legends Nick Lowery and Tony Richardson, who are former Kansas City Chiefs teammates and members of the team’s Hall of Fame, took a tour of southern Israel recently to see areas and meet families impacted by the deadly Hamas terrorist attack that took place on Oct. 7, 2023.
Lowery, one of the NFL’s greatest placekickers, and Richardson, a former NFL star fullback, toured Kibbutz Kfar Aza and the Nahal Oz base of the Israel Defense Forces, as well as the site of the Nova music festival massacre. They met with families of those kidnapped during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in an effort to help advocate for the release of the hostages. Their five-day visit to Israel that started on Dec. 29 was sponsored by Project Max and the nonprofit organization Athletes for Israel, which aims to bring well-known sports figures to the Jewish state.
The goal of Project Max is to fight racism, antisemitism, and intolerance through sports. Lowery is part of the #SportSpeaksUp campaign that is led by Project Max CEO Eric Rubin.
During their time in Israel, Lowery and Richardson spoke with Yoni and Amit Levy, father and brother of Naama Levy, who has been held hostage by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip for over 450 days. Naama, 20, is one of five young women kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas-led terrorists from the IDF base in Nahal Oz near the Israel-Gaza border. She was filmed being dragged into a jeep by terrorists, with her hands tied behind her back, during her abduction. Her ankles were cut, her face was bleeding, and her sweatpants were blood-stained.
“As a father, nothing to be proud more than to have a daughter like Naama,” Yoni told the NFL legends in a video that was shared on social media. “She’s quite shy, but very, very strong inside. It gives us a lot of hope that she is surviving.” Amit, 22, further told Lowery and Richardson: “I think it’s so important what you are doing because it’s been so long, it’s easy for people to move on. It’s not just a poster. [She’s] my sister and she has dreams.”
In response, the athletes expressed hope that Naama will return home soon. They also said they will do what they can to speak up in support of the hostages. “One of our goals is to help her dream and give voice to it,” said Lowery, 68. “The connection with Naama as a triathlete, to work through pain, to work through challenge … I hope that the athletes that are watching this … if Naama can’t speak up for herself, we must speak for her and the others. She will be back. We love this place. We love the people.”
Lowery and Richardson also visited the soccer field in the Druze-majority town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel, where 12 Druze children and teenagers were killed, and at least 42 were injured, by a Hezbollah rocket on July 27, 2024. During the stop they met with 13-year-old Jwan Ibraheem, who survived the rocket explosion and is having a difficult time moving on with his life after blaming himself for not being able to save his best friend who was killed by the Hezbollah rocket.
The former NFL teammates also toured Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, and met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana, and IDF soldiers. “We will be a voice to those who don’t have one,” they told Herzog. They also took a tour of religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall, and Lowery was re-baptized at the Sea of Galilee. They also stopped by the StandWithUs center in Jerusalem, where they learned more about the history of Israel and antisemitism.
The post Former NFL Players Take Solidarity Trip to Israel, Advocate for Release of Hamas Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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