US House and Senate leadership gathered Tuesday on Capitol Hill for a pre-Hanukkah hanukkiah lighting, a symbolic show of unity amid disagreements among the upper echelons of both chambers over the stalled Antisemitism Awareness Act.
The hanukkiah used in Tuesday’s ceremonial lighting belongs to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), a devout Christian, who said his first-ever hanukkiah was given to him by the Washington-based Chabad spiritual leader, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
Johnson began the event by saying an Israeli artisan crafted the hanukkiah from the shrapnel of rockets shot down by the IDF.
“I’m very grateful for that symbolic gift, not only because it’s my first menorah, but because when you look at it, you’re reminded of the true meaning of Hanukkah,” Johnson said. “That in the face of darkness, light bursts forth, and in the presence of fear, miracles emerge, and in moments of despair, hope springs eternal.”
Johnson said the more time he’s spent with American rabbis and Jews, the more hopeful he’s become for the future.
Congressional Leaders Host Menorah-Lighting Ceremony at U.S. Capitol – LIVE online here: https://t.co/MwiRHUFss7
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Battle between light and dark
This year was a very difficult year for Jewish Americans, and on college campuses and, of course, in the Land of Israel itself, he said, yet in the face of vitriol and war, the Jewish people have shown “unshakable strength and optimism and resilience.”
It’s been very inspiring, he added, and that’s because “we believe the light of truth always overcomes the darkness of terror.”
Johnson then referenced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he delivered a joint press conference in July on Capitol Hill prior to the prime minister’s address before the joint session of Congress.
“As Prime Minister Netanyahu reminds us, often, the battle for Israel’s existence is truly a battle between light and darkness. It’s a battle between civilization and barbarism, good vs evil,” Johnson said. “So as we ceremonially light the first of these eight candles, we recall the power of light within each of us, and we hold on to faith that God has not forgotten his people.”
Johnson then yielded the podium to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who he publicly slammed in recent weeks for not bringing forward the Antisemitism Awareness Act as a standalone bill before the end of the year.
“I am proud to stand before you in this great temple of democracy to share in the light of Hanukkah,” Schumer, who is Jewish, said. “As we all know, the story of Hanukkah is, among many things, a story of perseverance in the face of unspeakable hatred.
“It’s a story about how the Jewish people of a different age were forced from their land, forbidden to practice their religion, their Temple destroyed and desecrated, gathered to pray in secret, banded together in the hills and fields and fought off their attackers.”
Once victorious, he continued, the Jews set about the hard, slow, and painful work of rededicating the Temple and relighting the eternal flame of hope.
Today, he said, thousands of years later, the responsibility to keep that flame of hope burning bright “falls on every single one of us.”
“The world is swirling with strong winds threatening to extinguish that flame, evil forces of antisemitism, hatred, bigotry; we cannot let these pernicious forces win the day,” Schumer said.
“We must work together across the aisle to keep them from succeeding in America. In the darkness of our world, 436 days after the horrific attacks in Israel on October 7, with over 100 hostages still held captive by the evil terrorist group Hamas, and amid a rise in antisemitic attacks at home and abroad, we need to keep the flame of hope burning brighter, greater, more than ever.”
Jeffries also spoke of the story of Hanukkah as one of resilience in the face of adversity and “hope in the face of oppression.”
“It tells the perpetual story of the Jewish people, one of thousands of years of uncertainty, pain, persecution, but most importantly, and ultimately, of triumph,” Jeffries said. “Hanukkah teaches us that even a small amount of light can drown out a whole lot of darkness.”
Our Jewish brothers and sisters understandably feel a deep sense of anxiety about the future, he said, “but we are with you.”
“We will do everything that we can to crush antisemitism and bury it into the ground, never to rise again,” he said. “ We will continue to reiterate with moral clarity that antisemitism in any way, shape, or form is unacceptable, unconscionable, and un-American, and that our country must always be a safe place for the Jewish community.”
Rabbi Shemtov concluded the ceremony by highlighting the significance of the bipartisanship on display for the candle lighting.
The decision to hold the Hanukkah event “creates an island of togetherness in what can be a sometimes very fractured space,” he said.
“Hundreds of millions of my fellow citizens across the country watch these two leaders of the House, even as they disagree, have a personal respect for each other,” Shemtov said, “which is huge, and which spreads across our country a warmth that melts a lot of cold.”