COLUMBIA — At the annual menorah lighting on the Statehouse steps, elected officials and Jewish leaders echoed one refrain: South Carolina stands with Israel.
Even as major events celebrating the eight-day festival of lights were canceled or toned down elsewhere amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas that has so far claimed thousands of Israeli and Palestinian lives, the 18th annual Isadore E. Lourie Memorial Hanukkah Menorah Lighting in Columbia continued as normal.
Named for the late state Sen. Isadore Laurie, who founded the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina in 1994 after 30 years in the Legislature, the menorah lighting has been canceled only twice since it began in 2003. The last time was in 2020 because of COVID-19 concerns, and the other was the year before, because of weather.
Aside from the speeches centered around the conflict, the only difference from previous years came from extra barriers around the crowd of several hundred. More than a dozen police officers stood stationed at the entrances and around the perimeter.
No protesters showed up during the two hours of music, speeches and potato latkes.
Activists have gathered at the Statehouse at least weekly to protest the war, many opposing Israel’s retaliation for the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas militants during a major Jewish holiday.
Monday night’s event, two months after Gov. Henry McMaster signed a proclamation backing Israel, was more important than ever amid the ongoing conflict, speakers and attendees said.
Rabbi Hesh Epstein, one of the leaders of Chabad South Carolina, said in his opening remarks that it showed state leaders’ unwavering support for Israel.
“Tonight is crucial, because tonight is about moral courage,” Epstein said. “Tonight, we gather as fellow Americans and South Carolinians to say, ‘Here we stand, firm, resolute, clear-eyed and determined.’”
Hanukkah celebrates a victory for Jewish people, with the menorah representing a symbol both literal and metaphorical of a light in the dark. The origins of Hanukkah harken back to another war. More than 2,000 years ago, a small group of Jews, known as the Maccabees, defeated Syrian-Greek forces to reclaim the desecrated Second Temple of Jerusalem.
Whether speaking literally, in the way one day’s worth of oil burned for eight in the second century B.C.E., or figuratively, as a beacon of hope during the war, the menorah drives home a message, said Rep. Beth Bernstein, D-Columbia, currently the only Jewish legislator in the Statehouse.
“In the same spirit, Israel has consistently embodied resilience in the face of adversity, overcoming challenges with unwavering determination and perseverance,” Bernstein said in her speech.
On Oct. 7, Hamas militants on a rampage killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages, with atrocities including women at an outdoor music festival raped and tortured, according to the Israeli government and a human rights group in Israel. In the weeks since, Israeli military airstrikes and artillery fire have killed more than 17,700 Palestinians in Gaza, according to an agency of the Hamas-controlled government.
“The enormity of recent history, notably Oct. 7, has shaken the earth vividly, reminding the present of its past,” McMaster said during his speech.
In the last two months, watchdog groups have reported a significant rise in antisemitism. The Anti-Defamation League tracked a 337% increase in antisemitic incidents in the first month after the triggering attacks, compared to the same time period last year. Many of those have been at universities in other states, though South Carolina campuses have not reported any attacks.
“I think what most of us have been disturbed about, in addition to the horror that’s going on with what happened on Oct. 7, is what’s happening right here in this country, what’s happening right here on college campuses,” former Sen. Joel Laurie of Columbia, son of Isadore Laurie, said Monday.
Shelley Kriegshaber, a longtime Columbia resident, said she’s been to the menorah lighting every year, and Monday night’s crowd was the biggest she’d seen despite the fact that people were concerned about the potential for an antisemitic attack.
“This year was by far the most important year to be here,” Kriegshaber said.
