Jewish grinch robs town's Hanukkah
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jewish grinch robs town's Hanukkah*
Secular leader smashes menorah, blasts 'infiltration' of observant Jews
Posted: December 11, 2007
News from Israel
JERUSALEM – The residents of one secular Israeli town here were shocked
today to discover a menorah lit last night by a rabbi in a public
ceremony was smashed to pieces by the community's Jewish leader in
protest of observant Judaism.
"He who disrupted the joy of the children and caused anguish to many of
the residents here when he destroyed our menorah reminded us of the dark
period of the Gestapo who found a Hanukkah Menorah hidden away in the
Warsaw Ghetto and cracked the skull of a Jew with it," said Etai
Rappaport, a resident of Afek, a northern Israeli communal town or kibbutz.
Rappaport yesterday invited Moshe Shmuel Oirechman, a rabbi and emissary
for the Chabad Lubavitch worldwide Jewish outreach movement, to light
the menorah in his town of Afek for several religious Jewish families.
Afek is a kibbutz, an Israeli collective community funded by secular
Jews prior to and in the years following the establishment of Israel in
1948. Kibbutz communities were set up to adhere to social libertarian
principals of communal living and farming, but currently many here are
privatized and resemble regular communities. Some kibbutz towns have
significant religious communities.
This morning, Rappaport and other locals found their public menorah
shattered to pieces. Tvzi Assaf, head of the kibbutz, took credit for
the attack on Hanukkah, telling residents he was protesting any public
display of religious Judaism in the mostly secular Israeli community.
Assaf was quoting telling town residents he was afraid of an
"infiltration" of religious Jews into his community or that local
secular Jews would become more observant.
Rappaport said he was stunned:
"I am ashamed that there are such people living in the same Kibbutz as
my family. I also don't know what to tell my young son when he will ask
me 'where is the menorah?' Rappaport told Shturem.net, a Chabad news
site that first reported on the incident.
Rappaport said he found it "astounding" Assaf would consider the
lighting of the menorah an act of religious Judaism.
The Menorah is kindled for each of the eight days of Hanukkah, a
festival to commemorate the Jewish Maccobean victory over the Seleucid
Empire in the 2nd century B.C. and the rededication thereafter of the
Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. While other Jewish holidays such as
Yom Kippur or Sukkot are considered religious, Hanukkah is regarded more
as a nationalist holiday celebrated by both secular and religious Jews.
Tonight is the last night of Hanukkah.
"Since when does a Menorah make one religious?" asked Rappaport. "I
wonder what Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, would have
to say about that. He encouraged the educational system to celebrate
Hanukkah saying it symbolizes the courage of the Maccabbeas. It's
interesting to note that Ben-Gurion, who was known not to have a
particular liking for religious Jews, declared that he considers
Hanukkah as the most important holiday among the Jewish holidays."
Oirechman, who lit the menorah last night, said the destruction of the
menorah highlighted the growing tensions between secular and religious
kibbutz members.
According to Israeli media reports here, the past few years have
witnessed a growing trend of religious observance among the children and
grandchildren of secular kibbutz founders.
Oirechman said it was not his place to fuel tensions in Israel by
protesting the menorah destruction.
"I was shocked and angry about the entire thing. But I think the best
way to counter what happened is with love and by continuing to spread
light by teaching goodness and Torah values. Eventually our light will
dispel the darkness," he said.