Following the terrorist attack in Sydney, hundreds gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to celebrate the start of Hanukkah with the Chabad Jewish community.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, his wife Elke Büdenbender, and Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Meir Bar attended the ceremony.
Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, head of Berlin’s Jewish community, expressed deep shock at the attack in Australia, noting that Sydney’s Jewish community had simply wanted to celebrate “the triumph of light over darkness.” He emphasized the message of solidarity and positive cooperation across faiths and worldviews.
Teichtal mournfully recalled a rabbi killed in the attack, describing him as a personal friend.
Together with Steinmeier and Büdenbender, Teichtal lit the first Hanukkah candle on the menorah at the Brandenburg Gate.
Hanukkah, lasting eight days, commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE. Each evening, a new candle is lit. Traditional foods fried in oil, such as latkes and jam-filled doughnuts known as sufganiyot, were also distributed at the Brandenburg Gate.
Sources - Agencies
