In a sense, it would be nice if celebrations of the Chanukah holiday could reflect the mindset of attempts by those who control Western popular culture to water it down in order to blend in with the Christmas cheer of the end-of-year holiday season. But right now, that’s even more tone-deaf to the reality of Jewish life than it is in more peaceful times.
After the Bondi Beach massacre of 15 people at a Chanukah event, it’s not really possible to pretend that the meaning of the “Festival of Lights” is anything other than what it has always been: a commemoration of one episode in the ongoing struggle to survive the attempts of antisemites to extinguish the existence of the Jewish people.
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