The Jewish Federation of Cleveland welcomed community members of all faiths to its courtyard in Beachwood Tuesday evening to join in the lighting of its menorah in celebration of Hanukkah and to highlight the need to speak out against antisemitism.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. reached a peak in 2021, with 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to the organization.
“We know that we have to work together to fight all hatred,” Greg Levine, chair of the Community Relations Committee for the Jewish Federation said. “That's why it is so meaningful to us that so many of our non-Jewish friends, neighbors and community partners are here this evening, standing up with the Jewish community, celebrating the Festival of Lights together and together, shining a light on antisemitism.”
Antisemitism is defined as a prejudice or hatred for Jewish people, and can include depictions, language promoting anti-Jewish stereotypes and messaging.
This is the second year the federation has held a public menorah lighting ceremony as part of it’s collaborative Shine a Light on Antisemitism initiative. The federation partners the Anti-Defamation League, Facing History and Ourselves, Mandel JCC, Kol Israel Foundation, the Maltz Museum, The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland’s American Jewish Committee.
“Jews make up just 2% of the population, and yet one in four American Jews have been the target of an antisemitic incident in the past year," Regional Director of the American Jewish Committee in Cleveland Lee C. Shapiro said. “In order to combat antisemitism, we have to know what it is, and we have to recognize it and we need to speak out about it.”
The evening began with remarks from Levine, who highlighted the importance of having individuals from all backgrounds in attendance, including Congresswoman Shontel Brown, State Representative-elect Steve Demetriou, Solon Mayor Edward Kraus and Malia Lewis, president of Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board.
“Having our elected officials with us, supporting us as we shine a light on antisemitism this Hanukkah holiday is so, so important and means the world to us,” Levine said.
Bishop Edward Malesic of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland spoke next, and emphasized the importance of stepping over cultural and religious lines and encouraging community members talk to and learn from each other.
“When we stop talking to one another, we begin talking behind each other’s backs, and when we begin to talk each other's backs, we begin to say ‘us against them,'’' Malesic said. “That should not happen to us. We should be able to speak to one another -- even with diverse opinions, ideas, religions -- we should be able to speak to one another without violent words [and] without vitriolic statements.”
The bishop went on to say the Catholic and Jewish communities should work to strengthen their bonds.
“Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has emphasized the importance of the friendship between Jews and Catholics, which is based on a fraternity grounded in the history of salvation and finds concrete expression in our concern for one another,” he said. “Let us commit to not only maintaining, but further developing that friendship.”
Helen Forbes Fields, president and CEO of the YWCA Greater Cleveland followed the bishop. She said emphasized the intersections between the Black and Jewish communities and encouraged attendees to unite against the effects of racism and antisemitism.
“We must remember at the peak of the civil rights movement, our communities worked side by side to achieve freedom and liberation,” she said. “Black and Jewish leaders worked together here in Cleveland, successfully advocating for the outline of restrictive covenants that often limited both groups access to housing and to set us apart as the other. They did this because it was understood that the fundamental truth that our struggles and the struggles of all marginalized people are all bound together.”
She ended her speech with a call to action, encouraging members of the Black and Jewish communities to learn from one another about racism and antisemitism, and to speak up to condemn it.
“The light that we are bringing into the world is too powerful to be overwhelmed by hate,” she said. “If we each make a habit of practicing allyship in our daily lives and keep faith with each other, we will be that much closer to a society of peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.”
The final speaker of the evening, Rabbi Hal Rudin-Luria of the B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike, discussed the significance of the menorah, and the light and warmth it provided Jewish people throughout history.
“We light the hanukkiah, the menorah, at the darkest time when it seems perhaps that hope might be lost, when the cold begins to set in, when darkness perhaps feels like it will prevail,” Rudin-Luria said. “We light just at that moment, in order to light up the sky, publicizing the miracle, our story of resilience and faith, overcoming oppression and hatred, reminding us that with this light we can survive anything and that we are never alone.”
He encouraged Jewish people to withstand the rising antisemitism, and to uphold the tradition of placing the menorah in their windows during Hanukkah.
“The rabbis actually advise us that in times of danger, the hanukkiah should be moved inside so that only we see the light and no one else,” he said, “but tonight, even with the rise of antisemitism, we proudly light this and appear outdoors to shine a light on antisemitism because we know that a candle is never alone, and neither are we.”
The ceremony closed with the lighting of the menorah and traditional Hanukkah songs song by a youth choir led by cantor Alyssa Rosenbaum of the B'nai Jeshurun Congregation.
“The Jewish community here thrives because we have such wonderful neighbors and colleagues part of this community,” Rosenbaum said. “It's a really beautiful thing that we all got to light and enjoy the warmth and the light together and that we had leaders from other faiths who were joining us.”
Several of Cleveland’s notable landmarks are lit up blue during Hanukkah to support the cause, including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, First Energy Stadium, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, the Van Aken District, the Maltz Museum, Terminal Tower and the Jewish Federation building.
