Hanukkah

ILLUSTRATIVE -- In this photo taken on June 20, 2011, Nine year old Grace Powers, left, and her brother James, 11, read in the children's section at the Denver Public Library (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

January 29, 2019, 9:11 am

Hannukah tale of immigrant family wins top Jewish kids’ book honor

‘All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah,’ based on Sydney Taylor’s book series, wins gold medal for younger readers from the Association of Jewish Libraries

By Penny Schwartz

The parents of the pregnant Israeli woman critically injured in a terror attack in the West Bank speak to reporters at Shaarei Zedek hospital on December 10, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

December 10, 2018, 8:12 pm

Parents of pregnant woman shot in Ofra attack: ‘She opened her eyes and cried’

Father and mother of Shira Ish-Ran call for more forceful response to terrorism, say they feel army is being held back by government

By TOI staff

Israeli soldiers search for gunmen who opened fire at a bus stop outside the West Bank settlement of Ofra, injuring seven people, on December 9, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)

December 10, 2018, 9:44 am

Manhunt for terrorists who shot at Ofra bus stop, injuring 7, enters second day

IDF troops enter Palestinian villages in search of gunmen who fired at civilians; injuries of pregnant woman hit in attack improve, her baby’s condition worsens

By Judah Ari Gross

US President Donald Trump speaks at a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House, December 6, 2018. (Oliver Contreras/Pool/Getty Images via JTA)

December 9, 2018, 11:18 am

Trump’s Hanukkah parties celebrate his decision to move the Israel embassy

Boasts, cheers and a hint of bipartisanship as the White House marks the Jewish festival of lights, a year after landmark recognition of Jerusalem

By Ron Kampeas

Doughnuts on sale at the Roladin bakery in central Jerusalem, during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, December 12, 2017. (Flash90)

December 7, 2018, 2:30 pm

‘Miracle’ doughnuts emerge as Israel celebrates Hanukkah

Holiday treat goes gourmet in Jewish state, with some offering a French twist on classic delicacy

By Michael Blum

Andrew Pollack, father of Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting victim Meadow Pollack, shakes hands with US President Donald Trump during a Hanukkah reception in the White House in Washington, DC, December 6, 2018. (AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

December 7, 2018, 5:34 am

One year on, Trump cheered for embassy move at White House Hanukkah party

Andrew Pollack, father of Parkland shooting victim Meadow Pollack, calls US president ‘greatest friend Jewish people have ever had’ as candle lit in daughter’s memory

By AP and TOI staff

David Gould with The Temple Rockers (Jeffrey Foote Photography)

December 7, 2018, 4:41 am

Jewish-reggae band sparks it up with new Hanukkah album

Bassist David Gould and his Temple Rockers drop their latest Jew-maican fusion collection ‘Festival of Lights’ just in time for the holiday

By Gregory Gutterman Scruggs

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman and his wife Tammy joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Jerusalem’s Western Wall for a candle-lighting ceremony marking the fifth night of Hanukkah to mark one year since President Trump’s December 6, 2017 declaration on moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. (Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Jerusalem)

December 6, 2018, 10:45 pm

US envoy marks one-year anniversary of Jerusalem recognition at Western Wall

‘There can be no better place to celebrate,’ says David Friedman, who, in rare move, agreed to be joined at contested site by Netanyahu

By Raphael Ahren

Rabbi David Lau, chief Ashkenazi rabbi of Israel, lights Hanukkah candles in the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s Parliament, on Dec. 5, 2018. (Eli Mandelbaum via JTA)

December 6, 2018, 7:43 pm

Israeli chief rabbi lights Hanukkah candles at Polish parliament

Rabbi David Lau, son of Polish-born Holocaust survivor Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, says candle-lighting brings him full circle

By JTA

View of Hanukkah menorah on the last night of the eight-day Jewish festival at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Old City, December 19, 2017. (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)

December 6, 2018, 4:18 pm

US ambassador to light Hanukkah menorah at Western Wall with Netanyahu

David Friedman will join prime minister for official ceremony in the Old City of Jerusalem on fifth night of eight-day festival

By TOI staff

The Maccabees, as depicted by the Polish artist Wojciech Stattler (1800–1875) (photo credit: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

December 6, 2018, 2:12 am

Were the Maccabees religious extremists? Experts say it’s modern-day spin

The Hannukah heroes’ militarism may not sit well with American Jewish dovishness, but their extreme actions should be considered in the context of their time, scholars argue

By Ben Sales

This Hanukkah, you can taste and make doughnuts, known as sufganiyot in Hebrew (Courtesy Kfir Harabi)

December 5, 2018, 4:11 pm

Time to make — or eat — the doughnuts, and other Hanukkah treats

During this 8-day Festival of Lights, olive oil and fried sweet pastries are the order of the holiday

By Jessica Steinberg

Two holocaust survivors arrive for Hanukkah candlelighting at the International Holocaust Survivors Night of the Jewish Community in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, December 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

December 4, 2018, 9:59 pm

Holocaust survivors gather for global Hanukkah ceremonies

‘We have to celebrate them while we can,’ says former MK and survivor Colette Avital as commemorations are held in Jerusalem, Moscow, Berlin, and New York

By David Rising

These new Hanukkah books will light up children’s imaginations. (Collage by Lior Zaltzman/JTA)

December 4, 2018, 12:37 pm

What’s new for kids to read at Hanukkah?

Try a fresh take on a 1950s classic, a few crafty books and a new spin on the dreidel

By Penny Schwartz

Doughnuts (sufganiyot) on sale at Marzipan bakery in Jerusalem, for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. December 16, 2014. (Hadas Parush/FLASH90)

December 4, 2018, 12:29 am

90-year-old Israeli man chokes to death on Hanukkah doughnut

Paramedics say nonagenarian was attending holiday candlelighting when a piece of dough became lodged in his throat

By TOI staff