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Chanukah Festival to Answer Steuben Day in Anti-nazi Protest

December 12, 1933
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A demonstration intended to answer the challenge of the recent German Day celebration held by the Steuben Society at Madison Square Garden, will be the purpose of the Maccabean festival scheduled at the Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening. Samuel Untermyer will deliver the principal address which is to be a rejoinder to remarks made by German Ambassador Hans Luther.

Mr. Untermyer described the speech made by Mr. Luther as “condemning testimony of the efforts of the Nazis to spread German propaganda in this country.”

Morris Margolies, secretary of the Zionist Organization of America, which is sponsoring the festival, announced that the Chanukah celebration has been “transformed into an anti-Nazi demonstration.” He added that such a change is fitting since the celebration commemorates the victory of the ancient Maccabees over would-be destroyers of the Jews more than 2,000 years ago.

In a letter received by Mr. Margolies from Mr. Untermyer, the latter wrote:

“There can be no more fitting occasion than the celebration of Chanukah, the holiday which symbolizes the triumph of liberalism and enlightenment over bigotry and reactionary discrimination, for a vociferous demonstration against the evils of Hitlerism.”

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