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Monday, December 23, 2019

12/23 Links Pt2: Phyllis Chesler: Is it too late to clear the antisemitism swamp?; Boris uses Chanukah message to tell Jews “you have every decent person in this country fighting by your side”

From Ian:
Prof. Phyllis Chesler: Is it too late to clear the antisemitism swamp?
There is no end to what must be done, beginning with funding, distributing, and doing whatever it takes to compose new textbooks on racism that include Jew hatred and that make them mandatory reading; new courses in anti-Semitism and Israel, new courses in the history of Islam and then doing whatever it takes to make sure that they, too, are mandatory; forging anti-indoctrination curriculums that will take 50-100 years before they can begin to exert some influence over the media, human rights organizations, government leaders, leftists, and the Muslim world, etc.

This is trench warfare. This is clearing the swamps, inch by inch. There is no one quick fix.

What about our Jewish leadership? Where have they been? Most have spent the last twenty years focused on white, right-wing Nazi Jew haters, have been too politically correct, and overly sensitive to the sorrows of recent immigrants, to note from whence the danger cometh. How do we re-educate our leaders? Failing that, how do we replace them, and in time to make a difference? How do we insure that this time round, we do not give up our religious brethren or our Israeli brethren? And that we do not surrender ourselves?

Finally—finally, even some left-wing American Jews are a bit frightened, on edge, and are asking the kinds of questions that we all should have been asking fifteen or twenty years ago—maybe seventy years ago if we hadn’t been living in such a “goldene medina” at such a golden time in history.

Now, a few more of us can hear the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at full gallop.

This just in from a very liberal friend who was born in hiding in Europe and grew up in a DP camp. “Now I’m really getting frightened. My kids and grandkids all look very Jewish. Black hats. Payes. Sheitels. The works.”

This, from another non-religious friend. “This is wild. How can we stop this?”

This, from a former shul mate: “How did you know this would be happening? Are you some kind of psychic, a prophet, maybe a witch?”

Ah, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing...

Hannukah Sameach—our holiday which celebrates both military might and divine intervention. We need both.
America’s Failed Jewish Leadership Must Resign
On Tuesday, December 10, 2019, in a premeditated attack, two shooters opened fire inside a kosher deli in Jersey City, New Jersey and murdered four people. The killers included a former member of a notoriously antisemitic group and, reportedly, a follower of Louis Farrakhan.

It’s becoming obvious to most Jews that we are living in a state of siege. Practically every Jewish institution in America now needs significant security. College campuses have become hostile territory for Jewish students. Jews are murdered in Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Jersey City, beaten on the streets of Brooklyn, bullied and harassed in the universities, defamed by The New York Times and CNN, and now maligned in the US Congress.

There are many reasons for the current situation. Many are not within our control, but one thing truly ought to be: Jewish leadership.

The abolitionist leader Fredrick Douglass understood the consequences of failed leadership. He wrote: “Find out what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact … measure of the injustice and wrong … which will be imposed upon them.”

It’s hard to ignore the simple fact that Jewish leaders have failed to stop or even slow down the accelerating epidemic of Jew-hatred in America. Good intentions and doing their “best” is not good enough. It’s irrational to continue with the current policies and leaders and expect different results.

Part of the reason for their failure is that many mainstream Jewish leaders, with a few exceptions, most significantly Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), have failed to fully understand the new threats we face. Like failed generals fighting the last war, they focused on Nazis and the political right — and ignored the changed battlefield for as long as they could. They deliberately, out of political consideration, minimized the assaults coming from “progressives” and Islamists.
French justice protects criminals
The Paris Court of Appeal declared that the young man's discernment - 27 years old at the time and under the influence of illicit substances - was abolished at the time of the facts and that he is therefore criminally irresponsible. The civil parties have five days to decide whether they can appeal to the Court of Cassation.

"The issue here was neither the fight against this scourge which is anti-Semitism nor the desirable criminal policy against cannabis, but only the question of the discernment of Kobili Traore at the material time. However, it was clearly abolished," said the suspect's lawyer, Mr. Thomas Bidnic, who said he was "satisfied" and "relieved. "

Mr. Francis Szpiner, Lawyer for the three children of the victim, denounced the outcome as "an outrageous decision".
Speaking to the press, Mr. Francis Szpiner, lawyer for the three children of the victim, denounced the outcome as "an outrageous decision".

"A man whose experts said that he had had a delusional puff as a result of a deliberate intake of drugs was therefore granted impunity," he added. "We have just created in our country a Sarah Halimi jurisprudence, that is to say that any person who will suffer from a delirious drug addiction because he will have taken an illicit substance that is dangerous for health will be exempt from criminal responsibility ."

This inadmissible and incomprehensible decision shows the dilapidated state of French "justice", incapable of punishing the criminals.

Laws and justice are the foundation of any decent society, in fact for every decent life.

France has lost this moral foundation



Boris Johnson’s Landslide Victory Is Great News for Western Civilization
As a result of the Dec. 12 election in the UK, Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party he leads walked away with 56 percent of the Parliament seats versus 31 percent for the Labour Party.

Brexit was the key issue, and the people obviously made the decision to bet on Johnson to lead the country through the difficult challenge of negotiating with the European Union, with the obvious chance of a hard break if negotiations were to fail.

Johnson pledged to “Get Brexit done,” and that’s one of the main reasons why so many in the United Kingdom voted for him and the Conservative Party. The population is willing to accept short-term pain for long-term gain. Through their votes, they also affirmed that the United Kingdom is a proud, sovereign country that should govern itself democratically, with minimal interference from the unelected bureaucracy of the unwieldy European Union superstructure.

For those who are not familiar with the specifics of the European Union and the United Kingdom’s desire to end its affiliation with this quasi-democratic autocracy/bureaucracy, which rules over 450 million people in 27 countries, this brief video explains the nature of Brexit and why it’s become so controversial:

The United Kingdom is now positioned to stand on its own two feet, govern itself, and negotiate from a position of strength. Hopefully, the United Kingdom will maintain and expand on its prosperous trade relations with its existing partners, but without the governmental dictates imposed by the EU headquarters in Brussels.

In their own way, the UK electorate also sent the message that it expects and demands economic growth throughout the country, wants to maintain its own rich culture, and expects the government to physically protect the people from all enemies, both domestic and foreign.
UK Prime Minister Johnson Issues Hanukkah Message to Jews: ‘Britain Would Not Be Britain Without Its Jewish Community’
This month’s general election was a tense one for British Jews, with many fearing that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn — who the overwhelming majority of British Jews consider an antisemite — might be elected.

Instead, Johnson’s Conservatives swept to an overwhelming victory to a sigh of relief from the British Jewish community.

“There is every reason to be happy this time of year,” Johnson said in the holiday message posted to Twitter. “After all, quite aside from the joys of latkes and doughnuts … who can argue with a festival where the kids get presents every day for more than a week?”

“And it is a time to celebrate not just the miracle of the oil but also your unique identity,” Johnson continued. “To pop the Hanukkiah or Menorah in the window and say to the world, just as Judah and his small band of poorly-equipped Maccabees said to Antiochus III and his mighty Greek army all those years ago, ‘I am Jewish and I am proud of it.’”

Turning to the political anxieties of British Jews, Johnson said, “That’s really important right now, because I know that recent years have not been easy ones for British Jews. In the media, on the streets, and particularly online, antisemites have, in alarming numbers, been emboldened to crawl out from under their rocks and begin, once again, to spread their brand of noxious hatred far and wide.”

“But as you kindle the Hanukkah light tonight and in the nights to come, I want you to remember this: When the Maccabees drove the forces of darkness out of Jerusalem, they had to do so on their own,” Johnson said. “Today, as Britain’s Jews seek to drive back the darkness of resurgent antisemitism, you have every decent person in this country fighting by your side. Because Britain would not be Britain without its Jewish community. And we will stand with you and celebrate with you at Hanukkah and all year round.”

“Hag Hanukkah Sameach,” the prime minister concluded.


Prime Minister uses Chanukah message to tell Jews “you have every decent person in this country fighting by your side” but Jeremy Corbyn fails to even mention Labour’s antisemitism and turns his message political
The contrast could not be starker in the Chanukah messages from Britain’s political leaders.

Countering antisemitism was central in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s video message. He said: “Today as Britain’s Jews seek to drive back the darkness of resurgent antisemitism, you have every decent person in this country fighting by your side. Britain would not be Britain without its Jewish community.”

Referencing recent fears within the Jewish community over antisemitism, he added: “And we will stand with you and celebrate with you at Chanukah, and all year round.”

However, the antisemitic Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, failed to even mention Labour’s antisemitism scandal. In a video message lasting over two minutes, Mr Corbyn completely ignored the antisemitism crisis in the Labour Party. He said: “It seems to be the right time to be thinking about the message of hope” but clearly not the right time to be thinking about antisemitism in his Party and its effect on the British Jewish community.

Instead, he attempted to explain to British Jews what Chanukah is and then descended into a political message. He said of lighting the Chanukah candles: “They have been lit in the worst of times” and cited some of the atrocities that befell the Jewish people. In echoes of his Rosh Hashanah message, Mr Corbyn seemed to equate the theme of the festival with the environment. On three occasions he talked about the climate crisis or emergency. He then attacked the Conservative Party and said: “Our communities now face the threat of years of policies that won’t heal divisions or end equality.”
Working-class voters hated Labour antisemitism, says former MP who took Unite and Skwawkbox to court
A former Labour MP has told how working-class voters in Redcar, north Yorkshire repeatedly expressed outrage at the antisemitism problem under Jeremy Corbyn - even though the region has no Jewish community.

Anna Turley, who lost the seat to the Conservative candidate at this month's general election, said anti-Jewish racism, alongside Brexit and fears about the Labour leader's views on national security, were at the heart of her defeat.

Speaking to the JC after winning a high court libel battle last week against the Unite trade union and Stephen Walker, editor of the Skwawkbox blog, Ms Turley said: “Corbyn was an issue on almost every single door.”

“It was his leadership - they don't like the way the Labour Party is going. In seats where you had lifelong Labour voters, they knew.

"People said to me: 'We know these people, we've been here before, we don't want communists running our country'.

"Then there were the issues around national security as well as with antisemitism. It's an area where we don't have an ethnic minority population in any way. It's not an area where people had any Jewish connections.

"I think there's only one person who identified as Jewish from the last census, as I understand.

“But what they said was, 'My parents or my grandparents - they fought the war over this.'"
Rashida Tlaib's insulting Hanukkah message
Rashida Tlaib's weird Hanukkah message… TLDR: "Happy Hanukkah I hate Israel"


Congress Members Call on DeVos to Deny Taxpayer Funds for BDS Studies on Campus
Eight Republican members of Congress on Thursday called on US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to ensure that taxpayer funds do not go towards Middle East Studies centers at colleges and universities that support boycotting Israel.

In a letter to DeVos, the congressional members express alarm over Middle East Studies National Resource Centers (NRCs) allegedly misusing funds under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support the anti-Israel BDS movement, consisting of, but not limited to, prohibiting conferences and other events involving Israelis or Israeli institutions; lectures by Israeli state officials or Israeli academics; and study-abroad programs in Israel, including writing recommendations for students looking to partake in them.

The letter acknowledges the US Department of Education deeming that the Duke-University of North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies misused federal funding in hosting an antisemitic and anti-Israel conference in March.

The members of Congress stated that “academic boycotts of Israel defy the statutory purposes of Title VI programs. Directors, faculty and staff of Title VI-funded NRCs should not be permitted to implement an academic boycott of any country under their purview.”

“It is the Department’s responsibility to ensure that taxpayer-funded NRCs are implementing programs in good faith with the statutory purposes and requirements of Title VI,” they continued. “We encourage the Department to continue robust oversight efforts of NRCs’ compliance with Title VI.”
Terrorism Isn't a Civil Right
Human Rights Watch is providing terrorists with legal cover. A new report by Human Rights Watch claims to be about the "civil rights" Israel denies Palestinians. But since when is terrorism a civil right?!


BBC WS radio airs anti-terrorist fence falsehoods
Menendez made no effort to inform listeners either at that point or any other in the four and a quarter minute item that – despite his description of a “high wall” – over 95% of the anti-terrorist fence is made of wire mesh.

His claim that in places the fence cuts ‘deeper into Palestinian territory’ fits in with the BBC narrative according to which areas that the Palestinians agreed under the terms of the Oslo Accords would have their final status determined through negotiations with Israel (in this case locations in Area C) are described using the pre-emptive phrase “Palestinian territory”, which is of course unhelpful and even misleading to audiences.

Predictably Menendez made no effort to inform listeners that the cited ICJ advisory opinion was marred by politicisation before continuing with a coy description of ownership as “an interest”:

Menendez: “Well it turns out Banksy has an interest in a small hotel in Bethlehem called the Walled Off Hotel – that’s walled off, not Waldorf – and has just produced a new work to sit inside the lobby. It is a Christmas manger scene called ‘the scar of Bethlehem’ and it shows the manger by Israel’s separation barrier which appears to have been pierced by a blast, creating the shape of a star. Well the hotel manager Wissam Salsaa has been telling me more.”

Salsaa: “The holy family is just a classical holy family but the background of the holy family is a replica of the separation wall that Israel built round the Palestinian cities and of course there’s a big part of it around the town of Bethlehem. And on the middle there is a kind of shell hole carved the wall as a scar. So this nativity scene…I mean it looks like the star of Bethlehem but Banksy called it the scar of Bethlehem.”

Menendez refrained from telling listeners that Israel did not build a “wall” – or a fence – “round the Palestinian cities” at all – including Bethlehem. Indeed, the BBC presenter proceeded with the false claim that “the wall runs through Bethlehem”:
Media Turn Banksy’s Small Anti-Israel Installation into Major News
A major media event has hit the biblical town of Bethlehem, Jesus’ birthplace, just days before Christmas: The secretive artist Banksy has produced a new exhibit depicting the nativity scene with Israel’s concrete security barrier in the background, topped by a bullet hole in the shape of the iconic star characteristic of the manger.

The opening of what the artists has dubbed “The Scar of Bethlehem” has garnered vast coverage: articles include those by the Associated Press (“Banksy takes politically charged Nativity Scene to Bethlehem“), Agence France Presse (“Mysterious artist Bansky unveils dark nativity in Bethlehem“), Reuters (“Banksy’s scar of Bethlehem’ nativity unveiled in West Bank hotel“), Sky News (“Banksy “nativity” appears at his Walled Off hotel in Bethlehem“); The Mirror (“Banksy paints baby Jesus nativity scene. . . “), The Independent (“Bansky unveils ‘Scar of Bethlehem’ nativity mural“), BBC (“Banksy ‘nativity scene’ appears in Bethlehem hotel“), CNN (“Banksy unveils ‘modified nativity’ scene in Bethlehem“), The Irish Independent (“Banksy highlights conflict with his ‘Scar of Bethlehem’ nativity“), videos by Reuters, Deutsche Welle, and Voice of America (seen below, the three-minute promotional piece does not include even one word about why the security barrier was built), and numerous photographs from the major wire services.

Based on the media frenzy, one would assume that the political art was a towering mural, a dominant feature in the city, outside the boutique Walled Off hotel, perhaps appearing on the security barrier itself, which sits right next to the high-end lodging based around Banksy’s work.

But far from being a huge mural which changes the face of the city itself, Banksy’s new piece is a small affair which sits atop a little end table inside the hotel. The diminutive size of the art installation, however, was apparently not a factor in the determination of news organizations to dedicate astounding amounts of high profile, high visibility coverage.
Yeshiva University Arson Suspect Charged, Released, Rearrested Four Hours Later
A Yeshiva University dormitory was set aflame on Friday by a 33-year-old suspect who was set free on supervised release and then soon after rearrested after another incident of vandalism, the New York Post reported.

According to CNN, the suspect, Peter Weyand, is facing charges of arson, criminal trespass, and other offenses after he broke into the Schottenstein Residence dormitory and set three fires using matches intended for lighting a Hanukkah menorah.

Firefighters responded quickly and extinguished the fires. No one was injured as a result. Weyand was arrested shortly afterward after being caught on a security camera video.

Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said in a statement, “Attacking any religious institution is a serious crime and we have zero tolerance for acts of arson in this city. Thanks to the thorough investigative work of our Fire Marshals, a dangerous individual has been quickly apprehended.”

In a bizarre twist, however, Weyand was rearrested shortly after being arraigned and released. According to the Post, he broke into the backyard of a Staten Island home less than four hours later.

It was also revealed that Weyand had been arrested on misdemeanor charges earlier this month after menacing his roommate by sharpening a knife outside his door and saying, “Here piggy, piggy, piggy.”
London-area yeshiva burns down on first night of Hanukkah
A yeshiva near London was heavily damaged in a fire that consumed parts of the building but ended without causing injury.

The fire at Canvey Island, a fishing village south of London where about 60 ultra-Orthodox Jewish families moved in 2015, broke out Sunday night, Essex Live reported.

It was the first night of Hanukkah, a festival that is marked by lighting candles every night for eight days. The community members who use the yeshiva structure, which used to be a public school, were not in the building when the fire broke out because they were celebrating Hanukkah at a rabbi’s home, the report said.

The 10,000-square-foot compound, which housed a convenience store, an events hall and multiple classrooms, had polystyrene ceiling tiles that are widely considered a fire hazard.

The members of the Canvey Island community live in houses across the street from the yeshiva and communal center. They moved there from Stamford Hill and other areas of London mainly because of rising houses prices there.

Authorities are investigating the source of the fire.
Elbit inks $65 million deal to supply Netherlands with defense gear
Israeli security firm Elbit Systems announced Sunday it has been awarded a $65 million contract to supply the Dutch military with defense equipment.

Elbit said the contract, which will be filled over two years, was a followup to an earlier deal with the Dutch defense ministry.

The agreement will see Elbit supply the Netherlands with load carriage and protection equipment for soldiers, radio gear and wearable computer units, as well as vehicle and command and control systems.

“We are proud to continue providing advance systems to the Armed Forces of the Netherlands. We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Dutch MOD on programs that contribute to the survivability and effectiveness of the Dutch soldiers,” Elbit executive vice president Haim Delmar said in a press release.

Elbit, Israel’s largest non-government-owned defense company, last week signed a $35 million deal to supply weaponry to Montenegro, and in October reached a deal reportedly worth $200-300 million to provide the Swiss army with a radio communications system.
Tuberculosis vaccine could help prevent Alzheimer’s, Israeli study shows
A team of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem say they have found that a vaccine originally developed to fight tuberculosis and commonly used to treat bladder cancer may also be effective in preventing Alzheimer’s, a chronic neurodegenerative disease that causes memory loss, language problems and loss of the ability to function.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050 this number is projected to rise to nearly 14 million. At the moment, there is no cure or even treatment for the disease.

Now, say the researchers, “there may be a glimmer of hope,” according to a statement published Monday by the university.

The research team was headed by Hervé Bercovier, Charles Greenblatt and Benjamin Klein at Hebrew University’s Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

The scientists discovered that the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, originally developed for tuberculosis and commonly used to treat bladder cancer, may also be effective in preventing Alzheimer’s. They published their findings in PLOS ONE.
Naked Chef marvels at Israeli breakfast
Famed UK chef Jamie Oliver visited Israel this summer, and one of his breakfasts, eaten at a Jerusalem cafe, recently hit prime time on Israel’s Food Channel.

The two-minute video shows Oliver walking into Kalo, a popular cafe on Bethlehem Road in the Baka neighborhood.

He takes a glance at the menu and is impressed by the breakfast, which includes an array of different vegetables in keeping with his show, “Jamie’s Meat-Free Meals.”

“All these vegetables, when would you ever see that on a regular menu?” he asked.

The waiter tells him the standard “Israeli breakfast,” consisting of eggs, salad, cheeses and bread, was a kibbutz creation.

Oliver, whose first TV show was he BBC’a “Naked Chef,” heads into the kitchen, marvels at the assortment of salads, herbs and colors coming out of the kitchen, and then tucks into his own breakfast.

“This is like a picnic,” he said. “This blows most breakfasts around the world out of the water.”


Bringing Biblical Plants Back to Israel
On the side of the highway between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, Guy Erlich wandered between rows of frankincense trees and myrrh bushes. Here, in the sandy and salty soil next to a gas station, Erlich has spent the last decade cultivating biblical plants, many of which have not been grown in the Holy Land for centuries. He plucked a few green berries off one of the 20,000 plants that cover his 2-acre Balm of Gilead Farm, and handed them to me.

“This is the true frankincense,” he said, encouraging me to chew on the berries, which have a very bitter and slightly piney taste. Mentioned in the Bible as one ingredient in the Temple incense—and in the Christmas story as one of the gifts that the Three Magi brought to baby Jesus—frankincense is something few modern Western Christians or Jews have ever seen or touched.

“These plants are part of our tradition, but they were lost, so hardly anyone knows what they really are,” said Erlich, whose hat, clothing, and boots were covered in dust from a long day spent among his plants in the desert. “I am trying to change that.”

Erlich is one of a small but growing number of people in Israel today researching and growing biblical-era plants, bringing back lost species and trying to revive what they say was once a thriving tradition of medicinal and holy botany in Judaism. With online stores and visitor centers, these biblical gardeners are also trying to reach more locals and tourists.

“These plants are part of our roots,” said Tova Dickstein, curator of the botanical garden at Neot Kedumim, a Biblical Landscape Reserve in central Israel, popular with both Jewish and Christian visitors. “So it makes sense that we try to preserve them and their uses, and teach people about them.”
Hanukkah wishes from Trump, Johnson, Talib, Omar, other public figures
In honor of Hanukkah, politicians and celebrities from across the world posted messages and videos of support on social media. Everyone from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to talk show host James Corden took to Twitter to celebrate the Jewish festival of lights. While most stuck to a traditional “happy Hanukkah” greeting, some added a bit about the story of Hanukkah and pledges to stand against antisemitism.

All four members of “The Squad,” a group of congresswomen, all of whom were elected in 2018, which includes Representative Rashida Tlaib, Representative Ilhan Omar, Representative Ayanna Pressley and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). Tlaib, Omar and AOC are known critics of Israel.

Tlaib tweeted “#HappyHanukkah to all my Jewish friends and neighbors across #13thDistrictStrong and around the world. Wishing you light, love, and blessings as you celebrate the Festival of Lights.” However, another of the congresswoman’s Hanukkah messages garnered criticism from some Jewish groups.

In addition to the message on her own Twitter, Tlaib sent a Hanukkah message with a twist. In the video, Tlaib wishes IfNotNow Detroit members a happy Hanukkah and praises its “2020 platform calling for every public official to commit to defunding the occupation in Falestine and fighting antisemitism and white nationalism,” as something she could “support very strongly.”

At Hanukkah lightings from NY to Moscow, Holocaust survivors keep memories alive
Holocaust survivors in several cities around the world are lighting candles for Hanukkah together, as Jewish community leaders try to keep firsthand memories of the Nazi horrors alive.

An 86-year-old man in Moscow described being forced by Nazi occupiers into a ghetto as a child. Elderly survivors in New York shared stories Sunday at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.

Survivors also gathered in Munich, and other ceremonies are planned Monday at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and in Paris. The events were organized by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

“Keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive is a crucial and increasingly difficult task, and creating a connection with the remaining survivors is the best and most sustainable way to do that,” Charlotte Knobloch, a Holocaust survivor who now leads Munich’s Jewish community, said in a statement.

Hand-in-hand with a rabbi, survivor Mikhail Spektr said a prayer and lit a menorah in Moscow. He then sang songs for a crowd of people from Russia’s Jewish community, accompanied by a fiddler and accordion player.









‘Happy Hanukkah from space,’ Jessica Meir says wearing menorah socks
Since the holiday kicked off on Sunday, Hanukkah wishes and pictures are flooding social media, including many messages from international leaders and celebrities from all over the world. However, an exceptional Hanukkah greeting was even able to transcend the Earth’s borders.

“Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate it on Earth!” astronaut Jessica Meir tweeted straight from the International Space Station.

Meir, the daughter of an Israeli doctor who moved to Sweden and later to the US, joined the ISS crew in September. Two weeks later, she participated in the first all-female spacewalk.

While lighting candles every night is the core tradition of the festival, lighting fires in outer space can be especially challenging, considering that flames can react to the absence of gravity in an uncontrolled manner.

Perhaps for this reason, Meir opted for a picture of her feet wrapped in a pair of entertaining socks featuring pink menorahs and green Stars of David on a blue background. And she did follow the tradition of placing the menorah close to the window, since behind her feet, the earth is visible thousands of kilometers away.


5 Facts about Chanukah!


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