This is a photograph of members of an Israeli youth movement marching in a torch parade in celebration of Chanukah. The marchers are wearing white shirts and trousers. Each participant is holding a lit torch as evening begins to fall. Even though there is no information about this photograph, these young people presumably belonged to a Zionist youth movement and were participating in a torch parade commemorating the Maccabees’ victory against the Greeks.
From the early days of the Zionist movement, Judah Maccabee and the festival of Chanukah resonated with the Zionist narrative and took on new meaning. The Maccabees’ struggle for national independence was consistent with the Zionist view of actively working toward independence rather than waiting for a miracle. While Jewish tradition emphasized the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days, the Zionist movement placed political independence at the centre of the story. Schools celebrated the Maccabean victory in Chanukah celebrations and Chanukah torch parades took place. Another example of the change in attitude toward Chanukah in the Zionist narrative is the poem, “They Say There is a Land,” written by Shaul Tchernichovsky which quotes Rabbi Akiva proclaiming that the builders of Israel are the new Maccabees.
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Chanuka - Chanuka celebrates the rededication of the Temple by Judah the Maccabee and his army after their victory over the Greeks in 165 BCE. One of the well-known miracles of the Chanukah story is the small portion of oil that was able to light the Menorah in the Temple and burn for eight nights. Chanukah begins on 25 Kislev and is celebrated by lighting a Chanukiya for eight nights. It is also traditional to eat fried foods (to symbolise the oil) and play with spinning tops known as dreidles.
Jewish Youth Movements - Jewish youth movements are organisations for Jewish children and young people that originated in Eastern Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century. Many were ideologically driven, characterized by their adoption of Zionist ideals and a desire to return to the Land of Israel. Individual groups attached themselves to different Zionist ideologies; for example, Betar was the youth movement of the Revisionist Zionist Organisation, Bnei Akiva was affiliated with the religious Zionist religious movement, and Habonim was aligned with the Labour Zionist movement. Many young people immigrated to pre-state Israel with other members of their youth movement, and together they founded new settlements and kibbutzim. Today too, many Israeli children are involved in youth movements, meeting for weekly activities, trips, and summer camps.
