I was a proud guest of the New York City City Council’s inaugural Chanukah celebration held on Monday, December 11, in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The festivities, overshadowed by the war against Hamas in Israel and the widespread anti-Semitism worldwide, featured City Council Speaker Adrienne E. Adams and co-hosts The City Council’s Jewish Caucus, represented in Queens by Council Member Lynn Schulman. Chair Eric Dinowitz joined Ari Kagan, Julie Menin, and Lincoln Restler, while Inna Vernikov and Kalman Yeger had previous engagements. Council Members Gail Brewer, Natasha Williams, and Marjorie Velázquez also joined. The program, co-organized by Pesach Osina of the Speaker’s Community Outreach Unit, and Madison Rosensaft, was kicked off by a delicious kosher reception and culminated with a variety of donuts as a parting treat.
Council Member Kagan delivered welcoming remarks, citing lights as the symbol of the Jewish people’s victory overcoming darkness, and invited Aaron Mendelsohn, an Oversight Committee employee at the City Council, to lead the American and Israeli national anthems that he delivered eloquently.
Council Member Dinowitz correlated the story of Chanukah to the struggles and challenges the Jewish nation faces today. “The struggles we’re going through tonight are highlighted by the fact that we have family members of some of those who are held captive by Hamas right now in Gaza.” Adding on the diverse support for Israel, “But with all the pain that we feel right now, and the trauma that going through, I am filled with so much hope, because a few thousand years ago we stood together against insurmountable odds as a community gardening support wherever we could.”
Speaker Adams began her remarks by listing the Hamas hostages who were represented by family members. “In the thick of such deep grief and tragedy, we are still getting here among each other to ignite and to love upon each other.” Adams gave a blessing to the families to be reunited with their loved ones and that they should be “wrapped in love, warmth, and protection.” Adams noted New York’s “rich culture that has been molded by the expense of contribution and values of Jewish New Yorkers.”
“We know that Chanukah is the time to be with family,” said Hindy Poupko, Senior VP for Community Strategy and External Relations at UJA-Federation of NY, to the hostage families. “We cannot imagine how the past nine weeks have felt and the acuteness of the pain in this moment.” Poupko related the Chanukah’s teachings to the core of our city to celebrate the distinctiveness of all communities that embrace who we are, allowing Jews to proudly wear our kippahs and Stars of David without fear. “While the world has turned their backs on us in the past eight weeks, the Jewish community in New York will never turn their backs to the world” and will continue to bring light despite the darkness with compassion, inclusion, and hope.
“Our hearts are with you and we will not rest until every hostage is returned home,” said Restler, a Brooklyn Council Member, to the Israelis present. “It’s during these dark times that we find hope in the perseverance of the Maccabees, of the Jewish people, over many generations of hardship.”
Rabbi Michael Miller, CEO Emeritus at JCRC-NY, has helped communities of all backgrounds better understand one another. As a Senior Consultant at the Boro Park Jewish Community Council, he delivered a message of perseverance, resilience, and hope on behalf of their CEO Avi Greenstein, who was at President Biden’s Chanukah reception.
Council Member Julie Menin spoke of the Liberty Menorah crafted in 1985 by Holocaust survivor Manfred Anson for the Statue of Liberty’s centennial anniversary a year later, which was generously loaned to the Council by Yeshiva University’s Center for Jewish History. President Obama famously used the menorah and its eight branches bearing the Statue of Liberty and historic Jewish sagas at his 2013 Chanukah celebration. “This particular menorah reminds me of my grandmother and my mother, both of whom were Holocaust survivors and that they similarly found the opportunity and ability to freely practice religion here in New York City when they came here from Hungary.” To celebrate the joy and pass the perseverance down from generation to generation, Menin’s daughter Maddie, and Dinowitz’ twin sons Alex and Jessie, were honored to light it, accompanied by musical renditions from acclaimed soloist and musician Yitzy Spinner.
“My heart breaks every day,” said Council Member Schulman to the hostage families as she welcomed Tsach Saar, Deputy and Acting Consul General of Israel in NY. Like Chanukah’s battle, today’s rampant anti-Semitism “is a stark reminder that the darkness of hatred and intolerance still lurks in the world.” On the despicable term “From the River to the Sea,” Saar blasted, “From every river to every sea in the State of Israel, in America and in any place on Earth, Jews should and will be free. Free from terrorism, free from anti-Semitism, free to be who they are without being intimidated or feared, bullied, raped, kidnapped or massacred.”
Noam Gilboord, Interim CEO of JCRC-NY, builds bridges in communities with education and commonalities and led a mission to Israel last April for 12 City Council Members, 11 of whom had never been prior. Gilboord took the audience back eight years when his wife Liat was teaching math at a Brooklyn public school and co-teacher left on maternity leave and was replaced by Heba, a Palestinian. “All the kids knew that these two should fight.” The nine-year-old children questioned why they were cordial. The two women had “very different opinions, narratives, and histories,” and explained, “Our job right now is to come together and show you that we can be the best teachers for this class for the rest of the year.” They successfully taught the budding minds and maintained communication ever since. “I can tell you over the last couple of days, there have been some very difficult conversations,” described Gilboord, adding that they were “heart-wrenching,” but they have not walked away. “They are holding each other’s hands during this period of hopelessness, and despair.” Gilboord encouraged all to learn from these encounters as a method to move forward, calling it a “spark of hope.”
“There’s no more time to waste,” said Amit (Vincentio) Shemtov, a barista who embraces the simple life, who wore his first suit out of respect for the Council Chambers and begged those gathered to help bring his brother Omer back home. Amit discussed the pain that his family has endured and relayed testimonies of those released that suggest those in captivity are in pain and hungry. “We must face reality and we need you to do the same and act.” Amit called on the Red Cross and the United Nations to follow their charters and bring the hostages medical care. “Though it sounds like a sick joke to treat fairly civilians taken forcefully from their bed and homes, or from the middle of a dance party like Omer was. The clock is ticking.” Omer has asthma and his family fears that he cannot breathe well. “We are in New York where dreams come true during the most wonderful time of the year. Dreams come true, wishes realized; we have one wish, one request: We want them back home.”
By Shabsie Saphirstein
