I wrote this essay the first Chanukah after oct 7th but hadn't shared it on here.

With the holiday right around the corner I want to discuss Chanukah and what it means today for Jews, specifically for our relationship to Zionism and Palestine. In my opinion the lessons of Jewish culture are not to be applied solely to other Jews. As the Israeli goverment continues it's colonial project i think it is important to not lose sight of what this holiday is meant to commemorate. Over 2000 years ago Jews found themselves occupied by the Seleucid empire. A part of the empire conquered by Alexander the Great which was divided up upon his death. With this changing of the guards Jews in the area faced new waves of persecution and instability. An increased pressure was placed on Jews to assimilate into Greek culture and absorb more Hellenistic world views. With this new circumstances came what is now referred to as the Maccabean revolt.

Anyone who is aware of the Chanukah story at a surface level are probably familiar with Judah Maccabee. As the story goes the Maccabeans led by Judah defended the Jews against the Seleucids and won Jews the ability to practice their religion freely in their homeland. During these revolts the holiest sight in Jewish society was sacked and during the clean up following the Jewish victory a single days of oil is said to have burnt for eight days. This miracle is recreated every year with Chanukah’s most recognizable tradition the lighting of the chanukiah.

From a narrative perspective this description of historical events is all well and good. As many Jews will recognize this story follows the same trend of many others in Jewish history. This trend is summed up in the popular phrase "they tried to kill us, they failed, let's eat". Certainly an event worth commemorating but like all Jewish holidays, celebration usually comes with a lesson to be learned. On the surface the lesson seems simple enough. Violent rebellion to protect one's people is a justified response. Especially when told through the normal lens of the story in which Jews fought Seleucids this seems pretty cut and dry. For the purposes of zionists it also gives them a story of Jews reclaiming our homeland to echo in their rhetoric and propaganda. However the Maccabean revolts were far from just a battle between Jews and an occupying force.

Like I mentioned earlier part of the pressure placed on the Jewish population was the acceptance of Hellenistic thought. While the Maccabeans saw this as a attack on Jewish culture this was far from a unanimous belief among Jews at the time. Other Jews saw the benefits of absorbing Hellenistic thought into their culture. Especially if this meant a possible stop to the persecution faced at the time. Jews converting or adjusting aspects of their lives out of a need to survive has been an understandable route taken by many throughout our history. No matter how we may empathize with these Jews they were perceived as enemies just as much as the Seleucids themselves by the Maccabean rebels.

The violence carried out during the revolts was not solely aimed at occupiers but at the Jews who were deemed to be aligned with them. This did not only come in the form of battles between soldiers but what our modern idea of terrorism is. Acts carried out against the normal population of "Hellenistic" Jews for their beliefs. How does this complicate the story from a Jewish perspective or an anti-colonial one? How far is too far when defending you're people against an occupying force who seeks to erase your way of life? When do "your people" in service of the enemy stop being "your people"? Is the Maccabeans view of events celebrated simply because they won and what would jewish life look like now if they hadnt? Just a few questions that don't sit as easily when the finer details of the Maccabean revolt are delved into.

Considering how little of the specifics of these events many Jews are taught, it is easy when we celebrate Chanukah to view this as just an event that happened over two thousand years ago. Something so oversimplified in the average person's perception that we never give it the thought it deserves. In the worst cases just another excuse to eat food and get some presents. A story that might have at one time held valuable lessons but are now not really needed for most Jews in their everyday lives. Who wants to ponder the ethicality of violence in a rebellion on a holiday anyway? While i think most of the lessons of Judaism are timeless. Following the events of the past two years however I believe it has never been more important to reevaluate these stories and what we should take from them to apply to our current times.

Most importantly that the path to decolonization and the protection of any cultural identity against annihilation will atleast in our times involve bloodshed. Bloodshed that often cannot be described in simple terms of good vs evil. That exists in grey areas but does not make it any less unavoidable or necessary. In the fight for equality many parties have been caught in the crossfire that could be described as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. People who might have had their own reasons for falling in line and accepting the status quo or even those who tried to stand against it.

This is all to say that many among our community and outside it are quick to jump to the black and white conclusions. Quick to ask for condemnation before all else. As we celebrate another passing of Chanukah do we ask for condemnations of the Maccabees more heinous acts before we celebrate their victory? In our own history do we not understand that freedom can come at a cost. Even if at times the cost meant other Jews. I unfortunately have come to the understanding that the liberation of the palestinian people is no different. A battle not just to free Palestine for its people but to free Jews from zionist ideology.