Chanukah, the Jewish festival of light, was celebrated on Wednesday evening with the kindling of lights at Schuman Square in Brussels in the presence of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, ambassadors and local mayors.
The eight-day long holiday started this year in the evening on 14 December and will continue until 22 December. Each evening a light is added to the previous candles.
Chanukah commemorates a successful rebellion against the Seleucid empire, which suppressed freedom of religion in the Middle East in the second century BC, and the rededication (‘chanukah’ in Hebrew) of the (second) temple in Jerusalem.
Today Chanukah is one of the most joyous holidays in Jewish culture, celebrated by religious and secular people alike, commemorating the triumph of light over darkness and expressing hope for a better future. This year the event was overshadowed by the terrorist attack last Sunday against the Chanukah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, which claimed 15 lives and several wounded.
“I was devastated by the horrific shooting in Australia on Bondi Beach,” said Commission President von der Leyen. “May these Chanukah lights remind us of the strength, resilience, and courage of the Jewish community. In Australia, in Brussels, and around the world. We share your grief. And we stand with you."
Amid the shooting on Bondi Beach, Ahmed el Ahmed, a Muslim fruit vendor born in Syria, risked his live when he tackled one of the two perpetrators and disarmed him. He has been hailed as a hero for his brave action in a moment of chaos and danger.
“The lights of Chanukah are meant to be shared and illuminate the streets and spaces around us,” von der Leyen added. “But today, too many Jews do not feel safe to light a Chanukah candle stick in the window, or wear a kippah in public or a Star of David. Many must walk past armed guards to attend synagogue. And worry about sending their children to school.”
There can be no place for the poison of antisemitism, especially in Europe where Jewish culture is European culture. Von der Leyen announced that the European Commission next month will launch new measures to prevent and counter radicalisation and antisemitic narratives.
The Commission will also establish a prize in memory of Simone Viel, a Holocaust survivor and French politician, who became the first woman elected President of the European Parliament. In 2026, it will announce the first winner of the Simone Veil Prize for European Jewish Cultural Heritage.
Von der Leyen quoted Weil who said that Judaism had brought her the values of tolerance, freedom of mind, and democracy.
