Celebrate C(h)an(n)uk(k)a(h)
Hate crimes against Jewish people are at an all-time high in America. A poll in February found more than half of American Jews have changed behaviors to avoid antisemitism. Almost one third report avoiding overtly Jewish events out of fear. So this year, find out if your town has a Channukah event (DEC14-21), and go stand with your Jewish neighbors. Let them know everyone deserve to celebrate holidays in joy and safety.
How to do it:
Jewish Holidays begin at nightfall, with Hanukah running from DEC14-DEC21 (and through the day of the 22nd). Many places will have a candle-lighting ceremony on Sunday the 14th, but celebrations may happen at any time during the eight day cycle, so check local events sources. If your town is not celebrating Hanukah, but does have Christmas events, ask them why.
(C)han(n)uk(k)a(h)
Transliterated words can be interpreted in more than one way, so there is no “correct” spelling. Jewish holidays also move around, with the earliest years falling around Thanksgiving and the latest extending almost to NYE. The dates are sometimes listed in the Gregorian style, rather than reflecting beginning on the night before, so check your source to see if they already adjusted for this. (We did.)
Why we do it
Adjusted for population, antisemitism is the most common hate crime nearly every year, often by a large margin, and yet solidarity from the left is often weak. Division weakens our movement, so stand with all targeted minorities. Especially if you feel ambivalence. When a group that is objectively the target of violence leaves you uncertain, that’s a sign you have unpacking to do.
A note on statistics: we suspect anti-Transgender hate crimes drive a large portion of the homophobic statistic here, and perhaps it is no coincidence that they are the other community the left finds “complicated.” Broken out separately, the population-adjusted numbers would likely look much more like anti-Jewish hate crimes. Additionally, we are using the 2023 statistics because they are the last year collated and released before the Trump regime took office.
