‘As Then, So Now We Deliver Blows on Our Oppressors’: Netanyahu Lights First Candle of Chanukah

PM Benjamin Netanyahu lights the Chanukah candle, Dec. 25, 2024. (Haim Tzach, GPO) Haim Tzach, GPO

‘Today we light the first candle of Hanukkah to commemorate the victory of the Maccabees of that time and the victory of the Maccabees of today.’

By Ben Rappaport, United with Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening lit the candle marking the first night of the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, together with members of the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.

Also present at the candle-lighting were the parents of fallen IDF soldier Omer Neutra, who was killed while fighting terrorists on October 7 and whose body was seized by Hamas.

“Today we light the first candle of Chanukah to commemorate the victory of the Maccabees of that time and the victory of the Maccabees of today,” Netanyahu said.

“As then – we strike blows at the oppressors and those who thought they would cut the thread of our lives here, so this will apply to everyone.

“The Houthis will also learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and the Assad regime and others learned, and even if it takes time, this lesson will be learned throughout the Middle East. I tell you, in those days at this time,” he added, referencing Chanukah liturgy.

During the eight-day wintertime holiday of Chanukah, Jews celebrate their second-century BCE victory against the Syrian Greeks and the subsequent rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem to God’s service, as well as the miraculous burning of the lamps in the Temple menorah for eight days, despite there being only enough oil left for one day.

To commemorate these events, Jews hold a nightly menorah lighting, recite special prayers, and eat fried foods.