Opinion: A joyous celebration of Hanukkah this year feels incongruous

For each night so far of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, Jews across the Bay Area and around the world have lit an additional candle, bringing a bit more light into a world that so desperately needs this symbol of hope. And every night, the reminder of the miraculous survival of the Jewish people against all odds grows brighter as the flames glow in our windows.

But this year, a joyous celebration of Hanukkah has felt incongruous. We are still grieving for the victims of Hamas’ barbaric attack on Israeli civilians and desperately hoping for the return of all the hostages held by terrorists in Gaza. We are pained by the suffering of Palestinian civilians, caught between the Israel Defense Forces and terrorists using hospitals and schools as military command centers. And rising antisemitism at home — in our city halls, the public square, on social media and in our schools — is compounding the trauma.

Antisemitism is playing out in myriad ways across the Bay Area. At city council meetings, one-sided resolutions on the conflict have enabled public comment periods to devolve into a mess of disinformation and blatantly antisemitic tropes. This includes the horrendous public comments last month at an Oakland City Council meeting that accused Israel of perpetrating the crimes of Oct. 7 against its own citizens, legitimized Hamas terror as armed resistance and called outcries against the butchery “atrocity propaganda.” The council members did nothing to call out these lies that became part of the public record.

The Jewish-owned Smitten ice cream shop in San Francisco had to temporarily close after its windows were smashed and “Free Palestien” [sic] was spray-painted on the front. In November, following walkouts, parents of Jewish students sent a letter to the Berkeley Unified School District calling for support in the face of antisemitic harassment, including calls to “kill the Jews.”

On Dec. 6, Jewish students in Oakland public schools were forced to endure a “teach-in” that included anti-Israel propaganda, the viciousness of which has caused some families to consider transferring their children out of the district. Also, last week in Oakland, employees of a coffee shop blocked a Jewish customer from using the restroom after she complained about antisemitic graffiti on the mirror and the changing table.

But we cannot be afraid. Now is exactly the time for the Jewish community to reach out to our neighbors and work to strengthen our connections with other communities to fight the scourge of hate and bigotry. This includes reaching out to our Muslim neighbors, who are simultaneously experiencing a rise in Islamophobia. We need people of all ages, races and creeds across the Bay Area to unite against these hatreds that are tearing apart the region’s social fabric and making Jews and Muslims feel deeply unsafe.

Many of us are not okay. Being Jewish and Muslim during the holiday season — particularly for kids — can feel isolating. Community and school celebrations of Christmas sometimes fail to adequately include us and other minorities — or do so as an afterthought.

Hanukkah is about the miracle of our people’s survival against the odds. Jews have been celebrating for centuries, and we have lit candles in times far worse. Our modern miracle is to live in a community, the Bay Area, where Jews have heretofore been able to be our full authentic selves. This Hanukkah, we invite our allies to light up the night with us so that we may continue to experience a true sense of belonging here as Jews.

Tyler Gregory is CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area.