ANPEA rabbi speaks during the national Hanukkah celebration on Dam Square
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 02:46
Jules Jessurun
editor Online
Jules Jessurun
editor Online
The eight-day Jewish festival of Chanukah started last night in the Netherlands with the national celebration on Dam Square in Amsterdam. There was singing and dancing, but many attendees say they have mixed feelings this year due to the war in Gaza and growing anti-Semitism in the Netherlands.
A Hebrew song with a pounding house beat plays on stage at Dam Square as more and more people arrive for the celebration of Hanukkah. “They are not religious songs, but mainly cheerful songs,” says 26-year-old Alina Ruth Ipatov.
She is an Israeli exchange student studying in Amsterdam. Normally she would probably be having a celebratory dinner with her family, she says, but because she is now in the Netherlands, she came to Dam Square for the celebration. “This celebration comes at exactly the right time. It is about bringing light, which is necessary given the situation in Israel.”
Festival of Lights
Hanukkah, also called the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish festival that began after the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 164 BC. A candlestick was lit and there was only oil to burn the candle for a day, but according to the story the oil did not run out for eight days.
Since then it has been a religious festival where an extra candle is lit every day for eight days in a row. But non-religious Jews who feel connected to Jewish culture also celebrate it.
The celebration of Hanukkah on Dam Square in pictures:
NOS/Jules Jessurun
Representatives of the Jewish Police Network light one of the candles
NOS/Jules Jessurun
Israeli exchange student Alina Ruth Ipatov on Dam Square
NOS/Jules Jessurun
Partygoer Chris with his Chanukah candles
NOS/Jules Jessurun
A group of Orthodox Jews dance on Dam Square
Chris (57, “preferably no surname”) is a non-practicing Jew, but the holidays are important to him, he says. He decided at the last minute to come to the celebration on Dam Square. Two large candles are lit there chanoekia, a candlestick with nine arms. “I have been coming there for fifteen years and it is a very nice meeting. These kinds of occasions bring me closer to Judaism.”
At the same time, like other attendees the NOS spoke to, he says that the situation in Israel influences the experience of the celebration. Many of the people in the audience have relatives or friends in Israel. “It’s complicated,” says Chris. “What is happening now in the Gaza Strip and what happened on October 7 is of course not cheerful.”
Some of the crowd carry cardboard torches with ‘Bring them home’ written on them, a reference to the kidnapped Israelis still held by Hamas. They are also talked about several times on stage.
Before the celebration, part of the public walked through the city:
They celebrate Hanukkah in Amsterdam: ‘Especially now’
Growing anti-Semitism is also discussed on Dam Square. Last month, Mayor Halsema said that anti-Semitism and Muslim hatred have intensified in Amsterdam since the Hamas attacks on October 7. Outgoing Minister of Justice Yesilgöz says on stage that she hears “with a bleeding heart” stories about Jews who feel hunted, unsafe and unfree in the Netherlands. “They receive terrible threats online and on the street.”
Due to the kidnappings and growing anti-Semitism, 33-year-old Ronni from Amsterdam calls this celebration “revelry with a lot of pain”. She does not dare to give her last name for fear of becoming “a target”. “I have three small children and, for example, I no longer dare to speak Hebrew with them on the street.”
Angst
It is the seventh time she has come to Dam Square for the celebration, but she says she hesitated to come this time for fear that something would happen on Dam Square. Still, she’s there to come together “because sometimes I feel very alone,” and to feel the message of hope she says Hanukkah offers with others.
Officers walk around the party goers and there is camera surveillance. The organization also hired extra security guards on Dam Square because more Jewish people were afraid to come, says organizer Menachem Evers. He estimates that eventually more than a thousand people will be present, double the number of previous years.
Calm
It remains quiet throughout the celebration, except for one moment when a man shouts anti-PVV slogans through Yesilgöz’s speech. He soon stops when people shout “shut up” at him and the program never stops for a moment.
Moments later, the minister lights the central candle on the stage and the first of eight Hanukkah candles are lit with the fire from that candle. The audience cheers and sings and claps along to a Hebrew Chanukah song.
The pumping house beat starts again and some of the people start dancing, while others walk to the Jewish oliebollen that are traditionally eaten during Hanukkah.
Organizer Evers looks on with satisfaction. He acknowledges that this year’s celebration is different from other years, but emphasizes that the festive character had to dominate. “We have the word in Hebrew simcha, a word that means something similar to revelry. And if people don’t feel that joy here, where are they going to get it?”
2023-12-08 01:46:47
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