Germany’s chancellor lights first Hanukkah candle on an enormous menorah at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate
BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday expressed his unwavering assist for the Jewish individuals as he lit the primary candle of Hanukkah on an enormous menorah in entrance of Berlin‘s iconic Brandenburg Gate.
“I wish that the candle of Hanukkah will shine far beyond this square and much longer than just for the eight days of Hanukkah,” Scholz, wearing a black velvet skullcap, said in the center of the German capital.
Hanukkah, also known as Judaism’s competition of lights, marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem within the 2nd century B.C., after a small group of Jewish fighters liberated it from occupying international forces.
This 12 months’s vacation comes as many Jews really feel traumatized by Hamas’ lethal Oct. 7 assault on Israel that killed 1,200 individuals and during which the militants took some 240 as hostages. The assault triggered the most recent Israel-Hamas struggle, which has to date killed greater than 16,200 individuals in Gaza, in line with the Hamas-run territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.
“Hanukkah stands for hope and confidence. Both are especially needed these days,” the German chancellor stated. “The Hamas terror attack on Israel has shaken us all deeply.”
“Each and every one of us must clearly oppose this terror,” added Scholz, who has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and has confused many instances Israel’s proper to defend itself in opposition to the militant Hamas group.
Berlin Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, whose great-grandfather was murdered by the Nazis within the Holocaust, referred to as on Jews and non-Jews alike to confront the hatred with love.
“The answer is not to retreat, but on the contrary: more light, more joy, more Jewish consciousness,” the rabbi stated to cheers from the gang.
Germany has seen a large rise in antisemitic crimes since Oct. 7.
On Thursday, Berlin safety officers stated that within the two months for the reason that begin of the Israel-Hamas struggle, there have been 1,372 crimes in Berlin with an anti-Israel context, whereas 133 crimes had been discovered to have an anti-Palestinian connection.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner reminded these gathered for the ceremony how 85 years in the past, on Nov. 9, 1938, or Kristallnacht – the “Night of Broken Glass” – Nazis terrorized Jews all through Germany and Austria.
Kristallnacht was a turning level within the escalating persecution of Jews that finally led to the killing of 6 million European Jews by the Nazis and their supporters in the course of the Holocaust.
“85 year ago, the Nazis marched here, through Brandenburg Gate, with torches in Berlin,” Mayor Kai Wegner stated. “Today, Brandenburg Gate stands for freedom and democracy.”
“And that’s also what Berlin stands for: for freedom, for diversity and for democracy,” he added.
