By Marina Rosenberg*
While in the Jewish world, in Israel and in the diaspora, we light the Hanukkah candles night after night in memory of the heroism of the Maccabees and the miracle of the oil in the temple, it is impossible not to keep in mind the hostages who returned to Israel and, even more so, to those who still remain in captivity in the dark darkness of the Hamas tunnels.
A total of 78 women and children were returned to Israel from Gaza during the recent seven-day truce, having been held in the clutches of Hamas for some 50 days since they were violently taken hostage on October 7, the deadliest day. tragic for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
With the horrors of captivity marked in their souls, 39 hostage boys and girls returned to Israel, a great relief for all Jewish mothers around the world who feel those children are like our own children.
Meanwhile, Hamas and those who support this barbaric terrorist group try to justify the unjustifiable and sell a false image of good treatment of the hostages. However, the terrible details of the atrocities of which the little hostages were victims have already come to light.
There are boys and girls who were beaten, drugged and abused. Some were marked with burning motorcycle exhaust pipes to identify them so they would not escape. They also forced them to watch the brutal images of the massacre and threatened them with machine guns so that they would not cry. In short, they were physically and psychologically abused by their captors, who told them that their parents had forgotten about them, and that no one would come looking for them; that they would remain in those damp, dark tunnels forever. Fifty days with little water and food, without being able to bathe, with his wounds untreated, without light or hope!
Hanukkah is the festival of lights, of hope, of the fight of good against evil. Hope that is sometimes difficult to sustain when you see children who barely whisper, when you think of those who are still locked up, when you hear stories of grievances and medical manuals are not enough to understand the depth of the trauma inflicted.
But the great teaching of Hanukkah is the aspiration not to give up turning on the light. Because the Maccabean warriors fought so that the voice of the Jewish soul was not muzzled in the face of the Greek colonial threat. And we light eight candles on Hanukiah because of a miracle that happened after the destruction of the Temple, when a jar of oil intended for just one day was enough for the candles to burn for eight.
Each of the minors kidnapped by Hamas represents a lit candle that reminds us that the fight that is being waged is not only that of Israel, but also of the civilized world against barbarism.
The lights will continue to shine after Hanukkah. While the fire may be extinguished, the message of hope and light will endure. The hostages returning home are a living testimony of the ancient resilience of the Jewish people throughout its history, of the strength contained in hope. That is why Israel's anthem is called Hatikva, The Hope.
In the name of the hostages we must continue to fight against terrorism, prejudice and intolerance. We must not lower our heads, as in past centuries, but rather confront hatred and fight together for a world where innocent civilians will never again spend their days and nights in the darkness and suffering of the tunnels of terrorism and cruelty.
This Hanukkah we pray for another miracle: the release of all the hostages.
*Marina Rosenberg is the Senior Vice President of International Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League (@ADL_es).
On land, rubble
Underground, go out, so that nothing grows.