DECEMBER 21 • 2023 | 35
J
N
OUR COMMUNITY
S
ault Ste. Marie became
the first city in
Northern Ontario to
mark the start of Chanukah
with a public menorah lighting
on Thursday, Dec. 7.
At a time when many cities
across North America are can-
celling public menorah lightings
or public figures are declining
invitations to attend, Sault Ste.
Marie held its first such event.
More than 100 local residents
attended — many part of the
Jewish community but others
there in a show of support.
Mayor Matthew Shoemaker
led the ceremony outside the
Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre,
with Tova Arbus, president of Congregation
Beth Jacob Synagogue, sharing the story of
Chanukah. Sault Ste. Marie Commissioner
Andrew Rubinstein also attended.
The public menorah lighting was the
culmination of many years of effort, Arbus
said.
“For me, this started when I moved back
to Sault Ste. Marie about 10 years ago, when
I began commenting on city posts about
season decorations with a gentle reminder
of the 29 different festivals and holidays
that take place between November and
January, and the suggestion that this be
taken into account when they plan holiday
decor,
” Arbus said.
“
As our city becomes more and more
diverse and multicultural, it is high time
that the decorations and events of the city
reflect that.
”
Shortly after his election, Shoemaker
visited the local synagogue to meet with
its members and learn more about what
he and the city could do to help the Jewish
community feel more included. Arbus says
she mentioned what she calls her “holiday
campaign,
” an idea Shoemaker received
with enthusiasm.
“I shared that many other cities install a
large public menorah and light it in honor
of Chanukah each year,
” Arbus said. “Mayor
Shoemaker took that idea back to his team
and they ran with it from there.
”
With frequent consultation with Arbus,
the city sourced a large menorah with bulbs
that can be lit separately in order to light a
new one each night, as is traditional during
Chanukah. She said that now that it’s hap-
pened, it’s hard to fully put her feelings into
words.
“I feel so deeply pleased and proud that
our city would take this on,
” Arbus said.
“It feels like such a positive initiative, and
a great step in the direction of wider inclu-
sivity and acceptance in our community as
a whole.
”
Arbus added that the closest public
menorah lighting of which she is aware is in
Traverse City. She hopes the Sault’s actions
will inspire other nearby cities to spearhead
similar initiatives, in support of
all cultural groups.
Because plans for the meno-
rah began well before the cur-
rent crisis in Israel and Gaza,
some concern arose that the
lighting could become a polit-
ical controversy as the start of
Chanukah approached.
“It seems that everything
Jewish people do these days is
conflated with the Israel-Gaza
crisis, no matter what the action
or activity,
” Arbus said. “
And
there are many who are hurt,
angry or downright hateful,
and who choose to demonstrate
against Jewish people in the dias-
pora (lands outside of Israel) as a
way to make a statement against the Israeli
government, army and war with Hamas.
”
She pointed out that equating the policies
and actions of the Israeli government with
Jewish people everywhere is in and of itself
antisemitic.
As a result of the risk, organizers from
the city and the synagogue stayed in fre-
quent contact with the local police and the
Ontario Provincial Police’s hate crimes unit
to ensure the security and safety of all who
attended. It is important to Arbus, though,
that local residents remember the celebra-
tion of Chanukah and the local menorah
lighting are not political acts.
“It was not, nor is it now, intended as
any sort of political statement about the
horrific situation in the Middle East,
” she
said. “Instead, this menorah is intended as a
celebration of the long and continued pres-
ence of the Jewish community here in Sault
Ste. Marie, and a symbol of acceptance and
tolerance.
”
Reprinted with permission from Sault This Week.
Mayor Mathew Shoemaker addresses a gathering at Bellevue Park for
a public lighting of the menorah, marking the beginning of Chanukah
on Dec. 7.
Sault Ste. Marie’s Jewish community hopes to see
other northern cities follow with similar initiatives.
Menorah Lighting in
Northern Ontario
SARA MCCLEARY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
SARA MCCLEARY