A torch kindled at the tomb of the Maccabees near Jerusalem was presented to Mayor Edward Koch of New York yesterday as the holiday of Chanukah was celebrated at City Hall.
In the presence of Consul General of Israel Yosef Kedar Ms. Ronit Batson, a vivacious 18-year-old Israeli handed the torch which had been carried in the Zionist Organization of America Chanukah torch relay from Kennedy Airport to City Hall to Koch.
Ms. Boston, a member of the Maccabi Tzair movement in Israel, pointed out that Chanukah symbolized “spiritual and physical freedom.” In his talk Koch noted that “when we strike a blow for freedom for ourselves, we do it for others.”
Members of Masada — the youth movement of the ZOA ran the 26-mile route. Each youth carried the torch for about 100 yards and passed it on to another youth. At a special ceremony during the day, torches for various Jewish communities in the U.S. were lit. Torches were sent to Union, Elizabeth, and Trenton, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pa.; Baltimore, Md.; Toronto; Chicago; Minneapolis and St. Paul; Washington, D.C. and other cities.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
