Israeli initiative asks synagogues to honor Kristallnacht by keeping their lights on
‘Light from the Synagogue’ organizers expect hundreds of synagogues and churches outside Israel to commemorate ‘Night of Broken Glass’ this year

On November 9, synagogues and churches around the world will keep their lights on to commemorate Kristallnacht, Nazi Germany’s “Night of Broken Glass,” in which dozens of Jews were murdered and hundreds of synagogues were set ablaze in 1938.
Organized by Israel’s Religious Kibbutz Movement, the initiative called “Light from the Synagogue” has slowly grown over the past 15 years. Participating congregations are asked to teach about the November 1938 pogrom’s place in history, in addition to keeping the lights on until morning.
“Kristallnacht was a point of no return,” said Dalia Yohanan, the project’s coordinator. “The world did not care and that was a signal to the Nazis,” she told The Times of Israel.
Yohanan’s father — Naftali (Kurt) Wertheim — survived Kristallnacht as a boy by hiding under a table as neighbors threw stones at his family’s windows. Soon after, Wertheim was sent on a Kindertransport rescue to Britain and he later settled in Israel.
Yohanan helped launch “Light from the Synagogue” in 2008 with leaders of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). The commemoration differs from Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Memorial Day — because the focus is not on mourning.
“This is not like Yom HaShoah,” said Yohanan. “It’s an opportunity to talk about what it means to be part of the Jewish community and what is our Jewish identity. This is the most beautiful day to talk about it. They burned, we learn how to build up,” said the activist.

More than 400 synagogues in Israel are expected to participate this year, along with hundreds of synagogues and churches outside the Jewish state, said Yohanan. In Argentina, for example, commemorations will be held at 50 synagogues, said Yohanan.
“Every year we grow a little bit more in Israel and the Jewish world,” said Yohanan.
Following Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938, Germany faced virtually no international repercussions for the government-ignited orgy of violence in which 20,000 young Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Historians call this lack of consequences or sanctions a “green light” for Germany to escalate toward the Holocaust.

“The devastation of this event is significant, and what it symbolized for German Jewry proved to be deep and long-lasting,” according to Yad Vashem. “The passivity of German citizens signaled to Nazi authorities that the German public was prepared for more violence and would likely continue to be silent.”
‘His eyes were shining’
When Yohanan told her father about “Light from the Synagogue” in 2008, he responded with enthusiasm, she said.
“His eyes were shining and he said this is a wonderful idea,” said Yohanan.
Several synagogues in Ukraine will participate next week, said the activist, including congregations in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Anatevka. But because of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and blackout regulations, shuls in the country of 200,000 Jews will keep their lights on no later than 11p.m.
Yohanan says she receives photos throughout the night from Australia, Israel, Europe, and the Americas.
“I can imagine the earth as it spins,” she said.
This year, churches around the world are being invited to participate, said Gidon Ariel, who runs the organization “Root Source,” which connects pro-Israel Christians with Israelis.
“When I heard about this project last year, I immediately thought what an excellent opportunity this was for Christians who support and identify with Jews to commemorate the Holocaust in a concrete way,” Ariel told The Times of Israel.
In Israel, the commemoration officially kicks off at the President’s House in Jerusalem, where there is a small synagogue on-site. Throughout the Jewish state, synagogues on army bases will keep their lights on all night by request of the IDF’s chief rabbi.

“The Nazis had hoped to destroy the Jews physically and extinguish their spiritual candle,” said Rabbi Yechiel Wasserman, who conceived of “Light from the Synagogue” in 2008 as head of the Center for Religious Affairs in the Diaspora at the WZO. “Today, there are thousands of synagogues in the country where the sounds of rejoicing and prayer can be heard.”
At Kibbutz Tirat Zvi, where Yohanan is a lifelong resident, the event took on new meaning after her father died five years ago, she said. In addition to keeping the shul’s lights on, kibbutz members will learn from Jewish texts and sing holy songs, said Yohanan.
“My vision in a few years is that when a Jewish father will be in New York or Petah Tikva or Melbourne, he will be able to show his child the synagogue lit up all night the same way he shows a sukkah or a menorah,” said Yohanan.
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