Newport Beach, CA – December 7, 2023 —   The President of the Global Bank Group, Ron Nechemia, today issued the following statement to mark the start of Hanukkah:

Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights

It’s time to celebrate Hanukkah. From my family to yours, I would like to extend our most heartfelt greetings to our Jewish brothers and sisters who are celebrating the Festival of Lights, also known as Hanukkah, in the United States of America, Europe, Israel, and all across the world.

The Jewish Festival of the Lights lasts eight days and nights in honor of a 2,000-year-old miracle in which light won out over darkness. This year, Hanukkah started on Thursday, December 7.

For eight nights, Jewish families and friends will come together to engage in the lighting of the menorah. This special tradition started more than 2,000 years ago during the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, which followed a trying period when Jews were persecuted for practicing their faith.

Calling for the genocide of Jews

Unfortunately, the Jews today continue to face many different forms of violence, hatred, and bigotry around the globe. On October 7 –– the October 7 Massacres ––, the belligerents killed, raped, and attacked innocent civilians in Israel, with beheadings and dismemberment of babies and adults, killings of civilians “by shooting at close range and by severe physical abuse". 1,400 Israelis have been murdered since the October 7 Massacre, including 559 soldiers; eighty-one Israeli hostages out of 240 known hostages have been released.

In the United States, campuses convulsed with protesters in retaliation to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and hostile, sometimes violent, rhetoric toward Jews, and the presidents of three elite universities struggled to answer a question about whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” would violate school rules.

“Genocide is the annihilation of an entire people based on ethnic, national origin, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part — has also become a word of our time, a stark and haunting reminder of why our vigilance must be unwavering,” says Ron Nechemia the President of the Global Bank Group on the accession of the Festival of Lights ––Hanukkah – December 7, 2023.

Ron Nechemia says on the Festival of Lights Days that we all have a “sacred responsibility” to combat hatred and intolerance and to protect humanity from the terror of a possible “nuclear holocaust.” Our remembrance is a yearning for wisdom and to ensure that such horror never happens again anywhere in the world,” Ron Nechemia says. It also attempts to imbue future generations with a different vision of human existence.”

Remembering the Holocaust is also a safeguard for the future. Discrimination, antisemitism, and bigotry were the seeds that eventually grew into the abyss that was the Nazi extermination camps. Being mindful of these beginnings might serve as a reminder to always be vigilant for warning indicators.

Remember all those victims of the most vicious possible brutality on October 7

We remember all those victims of the most vicious possible brutality on October 7, and we pledge our continued care and support for the victims, their families, and the community. And we pray that the victims’ families find some measure of peace and comfort during this holiday season.

The warm glow of each candle on the menorah should help fill homes and hearts with love and happiness throughout the next several days. May this be the case. The idea that light will always pierce through the darkness is something that we reaffirm together.

#ShineALight

For the sake of humanity, justice, kindness, compassion, humanity, allyship, and community, I have requested that you #ShineALight. Maintain a unified front against antisemitism, racism, and any other kind of hatred on the planet.

Global Bank will continue to raise these concerns and advocate for change to promote peace, security, human rights, and human dignity.

Global Bank Support for Post-War Reconstruction

We look forward to working with both the Palestinians and Israel and the international community in the years ahead to promote the protection of human rights, regional peace and stability, and economic development.

Sincere best wishes for a joyous Hanukkah to you and your loved ones!