“Don’t let the lights go out” took on both a literal and a metaphorical meaning at A Jewish Voice For Peace’s Chanukah rally and dedication on Thursday of last week.
As evening descended outside San Francisco’s Israeli Consulate, a light drizzle turned to rain. The flames of more than 100 candles in 15 menorahs, which participants had lit, reciting a peace prayer to accompany each candle, began to sputter and fizz; some went out.
Undaunted by the downpour, the peace supporters relit their candles, hoisted their umbrellas and continued to sing and pray for the light of peace to shine in the Middle East. The rally drew around 100 people from all over the Bay Area, many arriving late because of delays following a BART power failure.
The Chanukah dedication was the second rally organized by A Jewish Voice for Peace. The first took place Oct. 7 outside the Federal Building in San Francisco’s Civic Center, bringing together a number of Bay Area groups that support peace in the Middle East.
They included Americans for Peace Now, the Interfaith Witness for Peace in the Middle East, the Palestinian American Congress and the American Friends Service Committee. These groups had helped to organize last week’s event and were in evidence outside the consulate. In addition, East Bay musician Achi Ben Sholom of the group Adama sang a number of American and Israeli peace songs.
“People are grateful that we have resparked the activist community,” said JVP’s Rachel Eisner. After the 1993 Oslo Accords, she added, many peace activists felt that they could take a break because something major had been achieved. However, recent renewal of hostilities in the Middle East revived the need to show active support for the peace process.
“We want it to be known that we support Israel, but we support Israel conditionally,” said Eisner.
Saying that “Chanukah is a time of dedication,” Rabbi Pam Frydman Baugh of San Francisco’s Or Shalom Community Congregation pointed out that throughout history, Jews have respected divergent views. Even in the Talmud, Rabbis Hillel and Shammai differ in their approaches to lighting Chanukah candles.
If Jews can reconcile such diametrically opposed opinions, said Baugh, they can also open their hearts to solve the Middle East conflict.
Much of the rally focused on youthful activism and energy. Leo Rosen of the group Jewish Youth Community Action spoke of his hope for the future and his conviction that world peace is inevitable.
“If we youth do not have all the answers — and I hope we do,” he said, “we make up for it in our hope and idealism.” His words were affirmed by Samir Assad, president of the San Francisco chapter of the Palestinian American Congress.
Hayward resident Esther Ho, who visited Hebron last spring with the Christian Peacemaker Team, was there to add her support to the Jewish peace movement. “I want to add all the strength I can,” she declared.
The message to President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was clear. In a tense week in which Netanyahu pledged to expand already existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the protesters voiced concern for urgent withdrawal from Hebron.
“There’s enough land in Israel for all of the Jewish people who need homes,” said Baugh, whose words met with cries of appreciation from the rain-soaked crowd.
“We do not need to take from Palestinian people to create new settlements,” she said.
Representatives from the Israeli Consulate did not attend the rally, which took place after its offices had closed. Responding to the protesters, Consul Eran Etzion said later, “The Israeli government does not need encouragement to follow the peace process as intensively and as courageously as possible.
“Even those who took part in this small rally understand that peace will not be achieved by extreme steps but by the solid majority on both sides, which is for peace.”