Project Menorah: Non-Jews in Bay Area light Hanukkah candles in solidarity amid war
OAKLAND – Every holiday season, Mary Kelly of Oakland lights up a Christmas tree. But on Thursday, for the first time in her entire life, she lit up a Hanukkah menorah instead.
Kelly isn't Jewish, she's Catholic. This, she said, was her way of showing her support for the Jewish community.
"I was taught the term 'Righteous Gentile' during the Holocaust and I'd like to think that I would have been a Righteous Gentile and this is just a gesture towards that," she said.
With antisemitism on the rise, exacerbated by the war between Israel and Hamas, good hearted non-Jews across the country are joining their Jewish friends and neighbors in solidarity, placing candles in their windows as part of a grassroots national movement, called Project Menorah.
Kelly, who has many Jewish friends, said this is the least she could do.
"I felt helpless, and I also felt as a non-Jew that so much of the negative response is not out of unkindness, it's really out of ignorance," she said.
Rabbi Mark Bloom of Temple Beth Abraham in Oakland said having Gentiles show their support has made all the difference in the world.
"Jewish people right now are now feeling very much alone and vulnerable. Lighting this menorah and having our friends light these menorahs in their windows lets us know that we are not alone," he said.
Kelly's friend Esther Rogers, who is Jewish, echoed those sentiments.
"When you have people that are willing to stand with you it is heartwarming and it feels like you have solidarity," she said.
For Kelly, it was a memorable and moving moment.
"It touches the deepest part of you," she said. "It's really beautiful. I highly recommend."