Candles a symbol of hope in the darkness

Over the years, the story of the Billings hanukkiot has become a symbol of what true allyship can look like.

By WILLIAM C. DAROFF DECEMBER 23, 2024 02:26

US SENATE MAJORITY LEADER Chuck Schumer lights a hanukkiah with Rabbi Levi Shemtov, as House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Speaker Mike Johnson watch at a ceremony marking Hanukkah at the Capitol last week. (photo credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)

As Hanukkah approaches, Jewish families across America are preparing to light the hanukkiah to celebrate a holiday that represents resilience, hope, and the triumph of light over darkness.

But this year, Hanukkah carries additional significance. With the beginning of the holiday coinciding with Christmas and antisemitism at record highs around the world, this time serves as an opportunity not only for Jews to reflect on their shared history and values, but to thank our non-Jewish neighbors who stand in solidarity with us and to bring more into the fold.

In many ways, the history of Hanukkah in America is intertwined with the enduring need for solidarity in the face of hate. A poignant moment of Jewish history in the United States came over 20 years ago in Billings, Montana.

In 1993, after a wave of antisemitic vandalism, the community was devastated when a swastika was painted on the front door of a Jewish family’s home. The hate crime ignited a firestorm of concern, but it also sparked an inspiring act of solidarity.

In a powerful show of unity, Billings residents – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – began placing hanukkiot in their windows as a sign of support for their Jewish neighbors.

A HANUKKIAH is lit on the eighth night of Hanukkah, last year. The flickering flames serve as a poignant reminder of resilience and faith, says the writer. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

The local newspaper printed a full-page image of a hanukkiah, the eight-armed menorah Jews light each night of the festive holiday. Families across the city cut these out, or obtained real ones, and displayed them prominently in their homes.

This quiet yet meaningful gesture spoke volumes about the values of the community. It was not just about standing up against antisemitism; it was a declaration that hate would not be tolerated and that light would overcome darkness, no matter how hard others tried to extinguish it.

What true allyship looks like

Over the years, the story of the Billings hanukkiot has become a symbol of what true allyship can look like. What began as a local response to a specific act of hatred turned into a nationwide reminder of the power of collective action. The hanukkiot in the windows were not just decorative; they became a beacon of hope, solidarity, and unity.

This story stands in sharp contrast with the American Jewish community’s post-October 7 experience, when we looked around us and saw many of our traditional allies – the ones we marched and lobbied with to support causes important to them, to protect their rights, and bolster their own communities – had abandoned us.

Worse, many celebrated the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust and actively stood against us. There was no mass movement to hang Israeli flags or put a hostage poster in every window; in fact, those very posters were torn down around the country. There was no nationwide outpouring of support in the face of skyrocketing antisemitism; in fact, the pro-Hamas gatherings grew in number and size.

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The pain of this betrayal compounded the fear and grief we were already experiencing, but it also made us all the more grateful to the few friends who stayed by our side and the new friends we picked up in the year since.

That is why, this Hanukkah, we must join arms with and make sure to thank the allies we do find around us. Invite a friend to your hanukkiah lighting, bring latkes to a neighbor. And to non-Jewish readers, affirm to your local Jewish community that they can count on you.

Small gestures can serve as a reminder that our society is stronger when we stand together, that our differences are something to be celebrated, and that hatred will never win.

Hanukkah is a celebration of light in the darkest of times. When the lights of the hanukkiah shine brightly in the windows of homes across America, they symbolize more than just the miracle of oil that burned for eight days; they symbolize the enduring light of community and the unbreakable bond of shared humanity.

Similarly, when we reach across communal and religious lines to oppose antisemitism and other forms of bigotry that perhaps do not affect us personally, we signal our commitment to the common good and to the American values of pluralism, diversity, and freedom to which we all subscribe.

Happy Hanukkah to all.

The writer is the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Follow him on social media @Daroff.