The theme of this year EuroChannukah lighting is ‘Shining Together’. Chanukkah  takes place against the backdrop of huge spikes in antisemitism and is the first major Jewish holiday following the Hamas Massacre in Israel on October 7 and subsequent war in Gaza.

“We were concerned that this year, we would hear from communities across Europe that they were scaling down Chanukah celebrations, hiding away, keeping their heads down. In fact, the opposite is true, now more than ever, the desire is to come out and celebrate the holiday,” says Avi Tawil, Director of the European Jewish Community Center, which organizes this event.

 

Against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and European-wide antisemitism peak, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen will light a giant Menorah on Sunday evening to mark the fourth day of the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, the festival of light.

The lighting will happen in the heart of the European Quarter in Brussels, between the European Council and the European Commission buildings, at the iconic Schuman roundabout.

For eighteen years, the European Jewish Community Center (EJCC) has collaborated with the European Commission to organize EuroChanukah, emphasizing the importance of cultural exchange and communal strength.

While EuroChanukah remains focused on cultural celebration and unity, it acknowledges the challenges in the world with its message of light overcoming darkness, serves as a symbol of hope and unity for people of all backgrounds.

Chanukah always falls close to the winter solstice, when the day is shortest and the night longest. It is not by accident that in these darkest of days the miracle of light, the hope of Chanukah takes on an even more profound meaning: The flame of hope defeating the dark.

The theme of this year EuroChannukah is ‘Shining Together’. Chanukkah this year takes place against the backdrop of huge spikes in antisemitism and is the first major Jewish holiday following the Hamas Massacre in Israel on October 7 and subsequent war in Gaza.

Organisers of this event, to which other Eu dignitaries, diplomats and journalists are invited, say that this year it is a showcase for unity and resilience in difficult times.

“We were concerned that this year, we would hear from communities across Europe that they were scaling down Chanukah celebrations, hiding away, keeping their heads down. In fact, the opposite is true, now more than ever, the desire is to come out and celebrate the holiday. To Shine together,’’ emphasized Avi Tawil, Director of the European Jewish Community Center (EJCC).

“Chanukah, at its core, is a holiday about light overcoming darkness, that good can and will always prevail. Our friends, like Commission President  Von Der Leyen, are standing with us in solidarity, in a common bond, and in this spirit of unity and resilience,’’ he said in a reference to solidarity ansupport of Israel expressed by the EU Commission President since the 7th of October.

“It’s been an awful few months. But Jews are defiant in the face of darkness, and always hopeful in the light, just as we have always been, and especially during Chanukkah,” Tawill said.

Also on Sunday, after Paris and London, a national march against antisemitism is organized in Brussels.