This evening, the third Chanukah candle was lit in the presence of: the rabbi of Migdal Haemek, Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman; the rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz; the mayor of Jerusalem, Mr. Moshe Leon; the government secretary, Mr. Shalom Shlomo; the director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Mordechai (Suli) Eliav; the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Rabbi Chaim Cohen; the vice president of the Claims Conference in Israel, Mr. Shlomo Gur; the chairperson of the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors, Mrs. Colette Avital; the director of social allocations for the Claims Conference in Israel, Mr. Yaron Marcus; and about 100 Holocaust survivors who came especially to participate in this evening’s candle-lighting event.
The third Chanukah candle is dedicated to the tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors who courageously carry the torch of life. From the Western Wall, the site that symbolizes the vitality and continuity of the Jewish nation, we offer a prayer that their light will continue and increase like the Chanukah candles, and that they will merit seeing Israel built, with a great call of Am Yisrael Chai – The Jewish Nation Lives!
The mayor of Jerusalem, Mr. Moshe Leon: I have the great privilege and great honor of lighting the third candle of Chanukah, together with you here, at the Western Wall. From here, I would like to send blessings to Jews around the world in the diaspora and especially to all Holocaust survivors who are lighting Chanukah candles with us in New York. Happy Chanukah. May we always be illuminated.
The rabbi of Migdal Haemek, Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman: Chanukah commemorates the miracle of the cruse of oil and less the victory of the few over the many, because that is what the Hasmoneans fought for – spirituality and purity. The miracle of the cruse of oil is a symbol of the Hasmoneans’ battle for purity and spirituality. We are privileged to be lighting Chanukah candles tonight adjacent to the remnant of our Temple.
The vice president of the Claims Conference in Israel, Mr. Shlomo Gur: The strengthening of the menorah light symbolizes the journey that you, Holocaust survivors, made from the depths of darkness brought upon you by the Nazi oppressors up to the great victory over darkness. The light you brought to your lives and to the lives of us all by your actual survival and by raising families makes you part of the revival of the Jewish nation in its land and the establishment of a Jewish and independent state – the State of Israel.
