P.E.I. Jewish community celebrating Hanukkah with 3-metre-electric menorah
CBC
It was a historic moment for the P.E.I. Jewish community as they lit their first public menorah on the lawn of the provincial legislature to celebrate 120 years as part of the province.
More than 60 members of the community gathered in Charlottetown to see the first light on an almost three-metre-electric menorah on Sunday evening.
"It's historic. It's, in a sense, a coming out public party of Jews of Prince Edward Island," says Martin Rutte, a member of the Jewish community.
"I cannot tell you how excited I was."
The Menorah has eight electric candles and one service light. Each night another light will come on at sundown until the Menorah is fully lit on the last day of Hanukkah.
"In 1898 there was actually a Jewish store across the street on Grafton. And for that man to have thought from 1898 to 2021 there would actually be a public menorah lighting on the legislative grounds of the P.E.I. Legislature is beyond belief," Rutte said.
The holiday is rooted in the story of Jews running out of oil for their menorah and only finding what they thought was enough for one day but it lasted eight days, which turned into the celebration of the festival of lights, Hanukkah, Rutte said.
"At the end of the eight days we grow the amount of light that goes out in the world," he said.
"What a wonderful symbolism, not only for the Jewish community, but for the world entirely, to light up the world."
Rutte got support for the event from Green MLA Hannah Bell, he said, who contacted Premier Dennis King. King spoke at the event, encouraging the Jewish community to eat more latkes, a traditional potato pancake, given the current fresh potato trade suspension with the U.S.
Community member Joseph Glass is working on a book about the Jewish history on P.E.I. The community has grown to more than 200, he said.
"The Jewish community has always gone through various issues. On one hand there was antisemitism going back, and there probably is still a bit around, but at the same time the Jewish community has been evolving, growing," he said.
Jewish people on P.E.I. now feel more comfortable displaying their religion and Glass said the public lighting of the menorah is a culmination of that.
"What was really fantastic was the parents bringing out their children," he said.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.