By COLlive reporter
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lit the eighth Chanukah candle on Sunday evening at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem together with senior representatives of Chabad-Lubavitch in the holy land of Israel.
Participating in the lighting were the chairman of Tzeirei Agudas Chabad and Agudas Chassidei Chabad, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov; Agudas Chassidei Chabad Secretary-General Rabbi Ariel Lemberg; Rabbi Or Ziv, Chabad emissary to Katamon–HaMoshava and a close associate of officials in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Joining them were Rabbi Menachem Ofen, director of the Security Forces Division at Tzeirei Agudas Chabad; Rabbi Levi Mendelson, head of Chabad’s work in medical centers across Israel; Chabad’s spokesperson in Israel and Chabad Shliach in the Knesset Rabbi Shimi Segal; and Rabbi Sholom Ber Aharonov.
During the event, Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered an emotional message addressed to Chabad emissaries worldwide in the wake of the recent terror attack at Chabad’s Chanukah gathering in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia.
“The Chabad community, together with the entire Jewish people, went through a great tragedy in Sydney,” Netanyahu said. “Despicable murderers killed Jews because they were Jews, and only because they were Jews. But our spirit has not fallen, and it will not fall. I have seen this among the emissaries and in Chabad Houses that were attacked in the past as well.”
He continued, “It did not break our spirit. On the contrary, I saw strengthening and a mobilization to action, to bring the Jewish people closer together everywhere on the globe. I haven’t checked if there’s a Chabad House in Antarctica, but I know they’re working on it…”
“From the depth of our hearts,” the Prime Minister added, “we share in the mourning, but we also see the greatness. We are more determined than ever to ensure the eternity of the Jewish people. We are doing this here, Chabad emissaries are doing this throughout the world, and we will prevail. We are prevailing, and we will continue to prevail.”
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov, chairman of Chabad in Israel, responded by drawing a parallel to the Chanukah story.
“Today’s terrorists, like the Greeks of old, sought to extinguish the Menorah and to strike the holy kohanim, the Rebbe’s Shluchim,” Rabbi Aharonov said. “Our response is great light. We will double the number of Chabad Houses in Israel, expand the Rebbe’s activities, and defeat the darkness with a complete victory, the victory the Rebbe wants.”
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