[postlink]http://gppr.blogspot.com/2009/03/mayor-villaraigosa-to-light-city-hall.html[/postlink]
Chanukah Event Includes Memorial to Mumbai Terror Victims
LOS ANGELES, December 16 -- To help bring the spirit of Chanukah to Los Angeles, Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa will join with Chabad representatives to illuminate an historic Menorah at
City Hall on December 22. The festive celebration begins at 12:30 p.m. on the South Lawn, with
the Mayor addressing the public to share holiday greetings and promote Chanukah’s universal
message of freedom, hope, and light.
“We are always excited to join with our Mayor and community leaders at City Hall during
Chanukah, and we look forward to seeing the Menorah shine brightly here in the City of
Angels,” said Rabbi Boruch Shlomo Cunin, head of Chabad of California. “Especially in these
difficult times, when we face so many challenges and so much darkness, our response must
always be to embrace hope and light.”
During the celebration, participants light the candles in a unique Menorah on the steps of City
Hall that is then displayed in the rotunda. The 150 year-old Katowitz Menorah has a special
history as the only ritual object d’art left after Poland’s Great Katowitz Synagogue was burned in
1938 following the Nazi kristallnacht. The Menorah was saved from destruction by being
hidden underground, and was later given as a gift to Chabad.
This year, the Menorah candles will be illuminated in memory of the victims of the recent
terrorist attack on Mumbai, India -- including Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife,
Rivkah, the Chabad emissaries murdered while serving their community. Mumbai has been a
sister city of Los Angeles since 1972, and Mayor Villaraigosa participated in Chabad’s special
prayer service on November 30 that drew more than 1,000 people to mourn the attack victims
and send condolences to the survivors.
The holiday ceremony will feature a special musical performance by The Bais Chaya Mushka
Music Ensemble. At the conclusion of the celebration, donated toys will be distributed to the
guests, who are encouraged to give them to needy children to lift their spirits during the holidays.
Corporate sponsorship for the public event is generously provided by The Ralphs Fund as part of
its charitable efforts to serve the community.
Chabad, a community-based nonprofit organization whose efforts are rooted in traditional Jewish values, offers many programs to help the needy regardless of background or belief.
Chabad runs the largest network of educational and nonsectarian social services under Jewish auspices on the West Coast, and its representatives have joined with the Mayor of Los Angeles and members of the City Council each year since 1985 to illuminate a Menorah at City Hall for Chanukah.
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