Everyone should be able to celebrate their faith without fear
This year’s traditional Chanukah Celebration held in Cranberry Township started with a story.
Rabbi Yossi Feller said only two days earlier he woke up to the news that his brother-in-law’s younger brother was shot in the abdomen and thigh while attending a Chanukah by the Sea event organized by the Chabad of Bondi in Australia.
The man was stabilized after several emergency surgeries.
“He has a long road to recovery — both physically and what he went through emotionally — but he definitely will make a full recovery with some scars, obviously,” Feller said. “I look forward to seeing him.”
Still, this Chanukah felt difficult to him.
“It wasn’t just an attack on the Jews of Sydney,” Feller said. “It was an attack on Jewish people worldwide. We’re all one people. We mourn together and we will again celebrate together.”
The menorah lighting event was launched years ago out of a desire to bring the community together.
“We’ve been lighting the Christmas tree, so it’s a natural extension of the holiday season,” said Supervisors Chairman Bruce Hezlep at the event.
On Tuesday, the event did just that.
But those in attendance were no doubt well aware of the violence the Jewish community has faced and feared for years.
Those who gathered Tuesday, Dec. 16, on the Armstrong Great Lawn in Cranberry Township shouldn’t fear celebrating their faith.
What happened in Australia on Sunday was unacceptable. What’s happened to this community elsewhere — including at the Tree of Life in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood — cannot be tolerated.
The Jewish community must be able to celebrate their faith. The hate must stop.
Everyone should be able to celebrate their faith without fear.
— TL
