December 12, 2012
Mayor Villaraigosa joins Chabad at Menorah lighting
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From left: Israel Consul General in Los Angeles David Siegel and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa dance during the menorah lighting at City Hall on Dec. 7. Photo by David Miller, courtesy of Chabad.
On Dec. 7, the dancing rabbis of Chabad and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa came together at Los Angeles City Hall to celebrate the Festival of Lights.
West Coast Chabad’s 27th annual Chanukah ceremony at City Hall drew community leaders and city officials, including Villaraigosa, Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles David Siegel and L.A. City Councilwoman Jan Perry, as well as Chabad rabbis from across the Los Angeles area.
“We are honored that Mayor Villaraigosa and city officials joined to bring the message and spirit of Chanukah to Los Angeles by illuminating the menorah for the City of Angels,” said Rabbi Chaim Cunin, CEO of Chabad of California.
Held on the Spring Street forecourt of City Hall, the upbeat event took place one day before the actual start of Chanukah, which began at sundown on Dec. 8. During the celebration, Cunin, Villaraigosa and Perry lit the first candle of the historic 150-year-old Katowitz Menorah, which once belonged to Poland’s Great Katowitz Synagogue, burned down by the Nazis in the 1930s.
Chabad of California, which runs a network of nonsectarian and educational services under Jewish auspices, organized the event.
