Dutch Christian Zionists Buy $30,000 Candelabrum as Gift to Jewish Community

November 15, 2013

2 min read

Hanukkah

And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it. (Exodus 25:31)

Hanukkah
The Dutch Christian Zionist community has raised over $30,000 to donate a 36-foot high menorah to the Dutch Jewish community. (Photo: U.S. Department of State/Wikimedia)

With the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah rapidly approaching, the Dutch chapter of Christians for Israel (CI) has opted to give their Jewish neighbors a unique gift: they have commissioned a nine-branched candelabrum in honor of the holiday.

According to its website, “Christians for Israel is an international, non-denominational Christian ministry representing hundreds of thousands of Christians on all continents…Our mission is to bring biblical understanding in the church and among the nations concerning God’s purposes for Israel and to promote comfort of Israel through prayer and action.  Our vision is to establish a global network of Christians having local impact, for the blessing of the nation of Israel, the Jewish people and the church.”

Sara van Oordt, a CI spokeswoman, told the JTA, “We think that this [gift] is a good way to show our support and solidarity for the Jewish community worldwide.

“We did not approach Jewish or Israeli businesses and donors, only Christian ones, because this is supposed to be our gift to the Jewish people.”

The candelabrum, called a Hanukkiyah in Hebrew, will be 36 feet tall and shaped like a star of David.  Its nine candles will be arranged across its top beam.  It is being made out of metal and will be the largest in all of Europe, according to CI.  At a cost of just over $30,000, it is being built in Friesland in the northern Netherlands, under the supervision of Arjen Lont.  Lont is the owner of a construction company and one of the sponsors of the Hanukkiyah.  The Hanukkiyah will be shipped in pieces to its ultimate destination, Nijkerk, where the Dutch CI chapter has its headquarters, and where it will be inaugurated on November 27, the first night of Hanukkah.  The first candle will be lit by Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, who has won several awards for his interfaith work.

Jacobs commented on the new Hanukkiyah as a welcome addition to the others that currently grace eighteen cities across the country.  “Not everyone was enthusiastic at first, but they kept popping up,” he said. “It brings people who would not normally celebrate Hanukkah to partake and it shows the world in general that we, Jews, are also here and a part of this society.”

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