A bloody massacre on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia and across the globe the tragic double murder of celebrated filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele (both Jewish), bring a somber start to the holy lighting of candles on the first night of Hanukkah in 2025.
On Bondi Beach, a father and son opened fire on a crowd celebrating the start of the high holy days of Hanukkah. Thirteen people were killed, with 42 others seriously injured. In Brentwood, California, on the west side of Hollywood, a son who has spent most of his life fighting addiction, effectively ends his life, as he has known it, slaying his father and mother in their beds at home, that same Sunday evening, the first night of Hanukkah, 2025.
Millions of Americans, across faith and racial lines support the concept, and most often reality of Israel, but where are they in support of their neighbors, who also happen to be Jews? Acts of hate and antisemitism have been on the rise for more than a decade globally as well as in our United States. Nearly a century after the rise of Hitler and his Nazi Party, cries of “Where are the Jews?” are not an indicator of a celebration or hearty Mitzvah or bris… they are a rallying cry for hatred and attacks.
Yes, America helped to create and since secure the nation of Israel, often from attacks by its own neighbors, and I will salute the Trump Administration and its recent work towards peace in Palestine, and cease fire between Israel and Hamas. Yet this same President, who oversaw the brokering of that historic accord, including the support of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and other Arab states, cannot muster words of kindness, empathy and support for the attempted slaughter of dozens of Jews on another allied beach at the onset of several of their highest holy days? Or the brutal murder of one of Hollywood’s most talented filmmakers, a man who gave us all The Princess Bride, Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men to name only a few. And Mr. President, I can also strongly recommend you might pick up more than a few pointers viewing, The American President, with Michael Douglas better filling the role which you now occupy.
My daughter Olivia and I were blessed and pleased to be invited to a Christmas Pageant on that same Sunday following these acts of tragedy elsewhere. Our host was a lifelong friend, community leader, and the first women CEO of DeKalb County government, as well as later a State Senator, but still best known to me as our beloved neighbor and dear friend of my grandmother Mary L. Crane, the one and only, Liane Levetan.
Nearing 90, Liane is still active, vibrant and leading, even in her new home of only a few months, a CCRC retirement community in Decatur, Georgia. Liane, literally the new gal on the block, assembled a full on Christmas cavalcade within the central lobby of her new home, with nearly 100 residents and guests on hand to witness a concert level pianist, Ms. Clarice, accompanied by a small ensemble, a ballet group and later a quite talented senior choir, on-key and in high spirits, bring the holidays and Christmas to Decatur that Sunday afternoon.
Yet Liane is also Jewish, and a survivor of the Holocaust, and here she was, organizing a Christmas pageant for her new neighbors, on the first day of Hanukkah.
The second temple in Jerusalem was the central sanctuary for Jewish worship for centuries. Two centuries before the birth of Christ, a group of Jewish Freedom Fighters, the Maccabees, reclaimed the temple from Greek-Syrian invaders who had desecrated it. They celebrated this rededication with a miraculous eight-day Menorah lighting, with only one-day’s worth of sacred oil, symbolizing light overcoming darkness as well as the perseverance of the Jewish faith and tradition.
And like the story of Hanukkah itself, Liane Levetan is a near perpetual light. My family and I have been blessed to share over several decades the warmth and brightness of that light.
It is never too late to stand in the light and to call out against those who shout from the dark, particularly during this time of year when there are so many other bright lights all around us. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, blessed Kwanza and all the best wishes in the New Year ahead. Shalom.
