hanukkah

People gather at a memorial at Bondi Beach to mourn those killed in a mass shooting attack, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 15, 2025. (Marcin Cholewinski/ZUMA Press Wire)

After the Bondi massacre, we don’t have the luxury to grieve silently

Before the blood had dried, the deadliest attack on Australian Jews was being used to justify repressing Palestine solidarity and retribution against Muslims.

By Em Hilton December 15, 2025

A Hanukkah menorah is seen in a window, with a Nazi flag hanging from a building across the road, Kiel, Germany, 1931. (Courtesy)

This Hanukkah especially, take inspiration from my family’s act of defiance

As some Israeli soldiers light Hanukkah candles on the ruins of Palestinian homes in Gaza, we must look to the rich Jewish tradition of opposing tyranny.

By Dana Mills December 8, 2023

Who is David and who is Goliath? Ahed Tamimi faces down a soldier in Nabi Saleh. (Haim Shwarczenberg)

Ahed Tamimi flips Zionist mythology on its head

The story of David and Goliath is a central Zionist myth. The case of Ahed Tamimi shows that while Israel still thinks it’s David, in reality, it’s Goliath. By Gil Gertel After the images from Nabi Saleh surfaced earlier this week, Minister of Education Naftali quickly made himself judge, jury, and executioner, declaring that the two…

By +972 Magazine December 22, 2017

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A demonstrator shows a banner during a protest in front of the US Embassy against the US President Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the new capital of Israel, Berlin, Germany, December 8, 2017. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Israeli official threatens German activists: ‘We know who you are’

After an Israeli flag was burned at a Berlin protest, the head of international relations for Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence Services says Germany’s pro-Palestine activists must ‘live in fear.’ By Inna Michaeli In the Ministry of Intelligence Services there is one person responsible for international relations. That same person is also currently threatening the citizens of Germany. On…

By +972 Magazine December 18, 2017

Illustrative photo of a hanukkiah in front of the Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. (Abir Sultan/Flash90)

Rewriting the history of Hanukkah and intifadas

In Hanukkah, we tell the story of a small, powerless people who, with religious zeal and courage, led a bloody guerrilla campaign against an occupying force and corrupt elite to assert control over the Temple Mount. By Yossi Bartal On Christmas Eve, Jews around the world began celebrating the eight-day Hanukkah festival. Family and friends…

By +972 Magazine December 26, 2016

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Rabbi Bradley Artson, and students from Hand in Hand participate in the Menorah lighting during Hanukkah reception #1 in the Grand Foyer of the White House, Dec. 17, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

How an Israeli and a Palestinian ended up lighting Obama’s menorah

Just weeks after Jerusalem’s Jewish-Arab school was attacked by arsonists, President Obama met with two students to light the Hanukkah menorah. Inbar Shaked Vardi talks about her whirlwind trip to Washington DC, and why she has decided to stay at the school despite the threat of violence. By Inbar Shaked Vardi It all started with…

By +972 Magazine December 27, 2014

Stattler-Machabeusze (wikimedia commons)

Hanukkah uncensored, part 3: Everybody loves Jonathan

The following is the third in a three-part special, giving you the real and complete story of Hanukkah, from the deep socio-political background to the fruition of the dream of an independent Jewish kingdom under the heroic Maccabees – 19 years after the death of the famous Yehudah, or Judah. These chapters are excerpted from…

By +972 Magazine December 27, 2011

Hanukkah uncensored, part 2: The elephants kill and get killed

The following is the second in a three-part special, giving you the real and complete story of Hanukkah, from the deep socio-political background to the fruition of the dream of an independent Jewish kingdom under the heroic Maccabees – 19 years after the death of the famous Yehudah, or Judah. These chapters are excerpted from…

By +972 Magazine December 24, 2011

Hanukkah uncensored, part 1: The Festival of Lights’ darker truth

The following is the first in a three-part special, giving you the real and complete story of Hanukkah, from the deep socio-political background to the fruition of the dream of an independent Jewish kingdom under the heroic Maccabees – 19 years after the death of the famous Yehudah, or Judah. These chapters are excerpted from…

By +972 Magazine December 21, 2011