The story of Chanuka, the fight of the Maccabees against the Greeks and their stooges the Hellenists, is a tale of freedom fighters, Jews fighting for minimal religious rights, religious freedom. Today we are a vibrant people with influence well beyond our small numbers.
There’s a disproportionate amount of Jews who receive all sorts of prizes for excellence, whether in the sciences or the arts or philosophy etc. And where are the Ancient Greeks who so terrorized us and dictated the end of Jewish observance? They are gone. Their society is history. Their metropolises are archaeological sites, while the Ancient Biblical Jewish cities are filling with Jews, building and thriving.
Haneen Zoabi
The only thing that really casts a pall on our great Jewish success and revival is the fact that the anti-Jewish, anti-History Left is ruling here in Israel. They wouldn’t dare do this to Arabs or Leftists.
The mentality and ideology of the Israeli Left is very reminiscent of the Ancient Hellenists, Jews who identified with Greek society and culture more than they identified as Jews and Laws of Judaism.
To make it clear. None of these problems put me off from living here in Israel. There is only once way to stop it, and that is for us to be here in larger and larger numbers. That is how we influence change. Making Israel more Jewish takes time. There is no instant cure. We must not get frustrated and give up. That is the lesson of the oil on Chanukah. We will survive and get stronger, no matter how small and weak we seem.
Chag Urim Sameach!Have an Enlightened Chanukah Holiday!!!