Vandals turn a Jewish familys home menorah into a swastika

Source: Washington Post

When Naomi and Seth Ellis’ young sons said that they wanted lights on their house in Chandler, Arizona, like all their neighbors’ Christmas decorations, the parents knew what to tell their three Jewish boys: Yes.

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After the boys went to bed on the sixth night of Hanukkah, someone dismantled their special menorah and turned it into a giant swastika.

“We talk a lot about the importance of equality and tolerance, loving everybody no matter what,” Naomi Ellis said. “I had to tell them that not everybody feels that way. Some people are ignorant, and this is what they do.”

She watched tears well up in her 9-year-old son’s eyes as she explained.

“They know about the Holocaust. They know about Nazis,” she said. But before Friday morning, the three children — ages 5, 7 and 9 — had never before seen a swastika, the symbol of the Nazi party that carried out the murder of 6 million Jews and of current-day hate groups.



Read more: http://www.heraldnet.com/news/vandals-turn-a-jewish-familys-home-menorah-into-a-swastika/

Once outlawed, Uganda Jews open synagogue

Source: AP

MBALE, Uganda (AP) — Seth Yonadav swaggered along a dirt path in rural Uganda, pointing toward the new synagogue where young men wearing yarmulkes lingered.

Up on a hill the synagogue stood like a crown jewel, surrounded by schools and a guest house, all owned and operated by a small community of Jewish believers in this remote hamlet founded by a single convert a century ago.

The Stern Synagogue, built largely with money donated by Americans, is a source of pride for hundreds of Ugandan Jews known locally as the Abayudaya, who have tenaciously maintained their belief despite the prejudice they have suffered over the years in this Christian-dominated country.

The community continues to pursue formal recognition from Israel, which would give it a further sense of inclusion. The Jewish Agency, a nonprofit that works closely with the Israeli government to serve Jewish communities worldwide, has recognized the Abayudaya since 2009, spokesman Avi Mayer said.


Read more: https://www.news-journal.com/news/2016/dec/30/once-outlawed-uganda-jews-open-synagogue/

Report: Phoenix-area synagogue vandalized on first night of Hanukkah

PHOENIX — Reports surfaced that a Sun City synagogue was vandalized on the first night of Hanukkah, sparking rumors of a possible hate crime in the Valley.

Jewish News reported that Temple Beth Shalom and Jewish Community Center of the Northwest Valley reported damage done to several fixtures at the synagogue, including a menorah, a Holocaust memorial and a basketball hoop.

A board member visited the synagogue on Dec. 25, the first day of Hanukkah, to make sure the menorah was lit up in correspondence of the Jewish holiday, but found “deep tire marks” next to the structure. Two of the menorah’s arms were also twisted downward.

Temple Beth Shalom’s Rabbi Shelly Moss told the publication that the menorah has been on the synagogue’s grounds for more than 30 years.



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Happy Chanukah!

Hanukkah (/ˈhɑːnəkə/ HAH-nə-kə; Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה? khanuká, Tiberian: khanuká, usually spelled חנוכה, pronounced [?anuˈka] in Modern Hebrew, [ˈ?anukə] or [ˈ?anikə] in Yiddish; a transliteration also romanized as Chanukah or Ḥanukah) is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication.

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched menorah (also called a Chanukiah/Hanukiah), one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical menorah consists of eight branches with an additional visually distinct branch. The extra light, with which the others are lit, is called a shamash (Hebrew: שמש??, "attendant&quot and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest.[1] Other Hanukkah festivities include playing dreidel and eating oil-based foods such as doughnuts and latkes. Since the 1970s, the worldwide Chabad Hasidic movement has initiated public menorah lightings in open public places in many countries.[2]

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