The celebration of Hanukkah begins Thursday evening. It coincides with a challenging season as reports of antisemitism rise in Connecticut and nationwide.
Since the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war, both Muslim and Jewish groups in the U.S. have reported increases in incidents of hate and harassment. In response, some communities have been debating whether to hold Hanukkah celebrations.
Diane Sloyer, chief executive officer of the United Jewish Federation of Stamford, New Canaan and Darien, said celebrations are planned in all of those communities.
“We talk about our safety and our security every single day even before Oct. 7,” Sloyer said. “Whether or not to display menorahs was not something that ever crossed our mind.”
But safety is still top of mind. Her federation has a director of security that services their entire Jewish community and surrounding communities, Sloyer said.
“There's increased security in everything we do, especially since Oct. 7, because of the rise in antisemitism,” she said.
The Anti-Defamation League has recorded a nearly-quadruple spike in antisemitic incidents since the onset of the war. The Biden administration has also called on universities to fight an “alarming rise” in antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Other federations around the state are also moving forward with Hanukkah celebrations, Sloyer said. Communities are gathering in solidarity to balance the joy of Hanukkah with an awareness of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
“It's a festival of lights, it's eight nights. It's a story of heroism and survival,” Sloyer said. “What we've tried to do … is to look for opportunities. Because what we have found since Oct. 7, is [that] we just need to be together.”
Togetherness, she said, can be as simple as an embrace.
“You're hugging people you never hugged before, you're just, ‘You need a hug. I need a hug,’” Sloyer said. “And the more reasons – and Hanukkah's a perfect reason – to celebrate together and bring the community together, it affords us all the opportunity of community, and the comfort that we find in community, and to light the lights.”
Connecticut Public’s Patrick Skahill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
