Israel ushered in Chanukah at sundown today with parades, public candle-lighting ceremonies and the traditional torchlight relays which saw youngsters and sportsmen racing over the countryside in the manner of the Maccabean heroes of old. Eighteen youth groups participated in a torchlight relay from City Hall here to the Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital buildings on Mt. Scopus, which is part of Israel for the first time in 19 years.
Hotels in both West and East Jerusalem were packed with pilgrims and tourists here to mark Christmas or Chanukah, depending upon their faith. This caused the Knesset (Parliament) to adjourn at an earlier hour than usual so that members could return to their homes in other parts of the country, there being no accommodations left for them in the capital. Hundreds of visitors, turned away by capacity-filled hotels, sought sleeping quarters in nearby towns in Israel and on the West Bank.
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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.
