Some 100 people gathered in downtown Durham Wednesday evening for a peaceful protest on the first night of Hanukkah, part of a nationwide “Chanukah Action to End Police Violence” event.
Carolina Jews for Justice was an organizer locally for the protest by the Major the Bull statue at CCB Plaza.
About 20 menorahs were lit during the hour-long event, the servant candle at the center lighting the first candle of the menorah on the first night of the Jewish holiday.
The Herald-Sun | Christine T. Nguyen
Elaine Farstad of Raleigh holds a sign that reads “Black Lives Matter” as she takes part in a demonstration on the first night of Hanukkah on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 at CCB Plaza.
“We are the servant candles that light all the others,” said Rinah Rachel Galper during the gathering. Galper, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, said afterward that she thinks it’s so important as Jewish people, Jewish clergy and human beings to link struggles together of justice, peace and liberation from oppression.
“One life lost is a loss for everyone. There’s no separation,” Galper said.
When the protest began, the crowd repeated call and response phrases.
“We are here as North Carolinians. We are here as Jews. We are here as allies. To say unequivocally that black lives matter. Black lives matter. Black lives matter,” they said together.
Songs sung included “Oseh Shalom,” whose lyrics translate from Hebrew to: “May the one who brings peace above bring peace on us, and on the whole Jewish people, and on all who dwell on earth. And let us say, amen.”
Rabbi Darryl Crystal, who is interim rabbi at Judea Reform Congregation, talked about going to Ferguson, Missouri about a month ago to participate in a protest with 30 other rabbis in the wake of the killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson. Crystal said they gathered in a church and listened to the community before marching to the police station in Ferguson.
Galper said there are two stories of Hanukkah — one violent and people dying, she said, and the other about the miracle of light and having hope and strength.
Hanukkah commemorates the Maccabees’ reclaiming of the Temple in Jerusalem, its rededication, and the needed oil that lasted eight days.
Serena Sebring of Southerners on New Ground presented a list of local demands for the Durham Police Department, including training in de-escalation and that police stop interfering with demonstrations.
Jade Brooks said protesters were there to demand justice as North Carolinians and as Jews.
“We are here to demand an end to the systemic police violence against people of color,” Brooks said. They were there to cry the words of the Mourner’s Kaddish for black and brown people, she said.
The gathering ended with a group reciting of the Mourner’s Kaddish, which is part of a Jewish prayer service.
As people dispersed, Crystal said the issues of “Black Lives Matter” and Hanukkah are about freedom.
“What’s important is the thing I’ve been saying again and again — one saves a life and saves the entire world. One destroys a life and destroys the entire world, and that’s from the Jewish tradition,” he said.
The miracle of Hanukkah, he said, is that the few beat many, but also that they took the first step.
“There are great movements of change when people make the first step together,” he said.
Organizers also distributed “8 Nights, 8 Actions,” a way to dedicate each night of Hanukkah to “Black Lives Matter” issues and people, created by “Chanukah Action.”
Follow on Twitter: @dawnbvaughan This press clipping first appeared on heraldsun.com on December 16, 2014. Art by Zoe Cohen, www.zoecohen.com
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