They came from as far as Munich; some traveled more than 9 hours. Buses organized by the European Center for Jewish Students brought excited students and young professionals from Amsterdam, Antwerp, Cologne, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and Paris.
Gad Elbaz, a popular Israeli singer, was the star of the evening with his live concert. He sang a range of Israeli and traditional festive songs. Elbaz says, “I try to reach people through music and spread a positive Jewish message.” The message he hopes people left with was, “Unity, belief in one G-d and Jewish feelings.”
During the intermission, brief insights into the Festival of Lights were shared by Sara Ives, co-director of ECJS, and Rabbi Menacham Hadad, founder of Mayan Chai. At 6 meters, the giant menorah towered above the crowds. English-born Zevi Ives, director of ECJS, together with its founder, Rabbi Gershon Mendel Garelik from Milan, had the honor of lighting the menorah.
As the evening wound to a close, the buses began to leave and the crowds dispersed slowly, lingering in the square as if hoping the evening would never end. Ruth Neuschlova, a student studying in Brussels who is originally from Bratislava, described the evening with a grin. “It was my best Chanukah celebration ever.”
Lilian Nass a student from Cologne commented, “I thought it was a great way to end a weekend and lovely seeing so many people. Many I already knew from ECJS events. It was warm and fun in the cold!”
“It was definitely the best Chanuka Party I've ever had. Great concert, great people, nice speeches and amazing atmosphere!” Said German student Vivien Klass.
Zevi Ives claims, “The large turnout and the atmosphere was just what we were hoping for. As the evening continued on, most of the local families who came to the event left. The remaining young people celebrated the holiday and music together. It is wonderful to be surrounded by so many happy faces. It’s the smiles that tell me the program was successful.”
The evening was organized and sponsored by ECJS, EJCC and Mayan Chai.
Annual Brussels weekend, November 26-28. A weekend full of fun with plenty of sight seeing, good times, and a HUGE party with UEJB!
Police decoys have helped reduce street crime. The “decoy Jew” has now been added to the police attributes.
Despite volcanic disruptions to European air travel, 150 Europeans traveled to New York for the first transatlantic ECJS event May 6-10.
Ostrove told the Winnipeg Jewish Review that he had the opportunity to talk to a lot of European Jewish students, ages 18-35, about the their concerns, including anti-Semitism.
