A “Torch of Freedom” from Israel was kindled on the steps of City Hall today in a traditional ceremony marking the eight-day Jewish holiday of Chanukah, which begins tomorrow night. The torch, which was blessed on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem before it was sent to the United States, was presented to Mayor Wagner by Dr. Israel Goldstein, chairman of New York’s fifth annual Chanukah Festival for Israel.
A seven-man guard of honor made up of members of the Shomrim Society of the New York Police Department, headed by Captain Seymour Blau, stood at attention on the steps of City Hall during the lighting of the torch. Miss Esther Herlitz, Consul of Israel in New York, represented her government, while 6-year-old Meir Arisohn of Tel Aviv, who held the torch during the ceremony, represented the children of Israel. In kindling the “Torch of Freedom,” Dr. Goldstein pointed out to Mayor Wagner that the ceremony symbolized the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the successful Jewish uprising in 165 B.C.E.
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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.
