FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 1, 2010

CONTACT: Aaron Keyak
office: (202) 225-5061
cell: (202) 905-6361
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it


Washington, DC – Representative Steve Rothman (D-NJ), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement:

Tonight, I will join with my family, friends, and Jewish communities around the world as we celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, and extend the season’s greetings to all. Hanukkah is a celebration of triumph of the oppressed over their oppressors and a time when we remember the great miracles that happen to all of us.

It was more than two millennia ago in 165 B.C.E., that a small group of Maccabees, also known as the Hasmoneans, defeated the many and powerful Syrian-Greek forces to recapture the holy Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Not only did the Jewish people achieve victory over those who had desecrated their Temple and outlawed their traditions, but they also witnessed a great miracle – a day’s worth of oil used to light the Temple’s Menorah miraculously lasted eight days.

We live in a time when there are many dangers in the world – from global terrorism and Iran’s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons, to the irresponsible nuclear regime in North Korea and the horrors of human trafficking – but, as this holiday reminds us, we must stand up for what we believe in. And that sometimes miracles do happen.

I wish all of my constituents, all New Jerseyans, and those throughout our country and around the world a very Happy Hanukkah!

 

###

Share this article with others here: