Soldiers’ release called for at Hanukkah event Wife of captive Israeli soldier speaks to crowd in Monroe BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer JESSICA SMITH Floyd Langher (clockwise from bottom left), Levi Slonim, Stanley Edelman, Mendel Zaklikovsky, Schmueli Slonim, Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky, Martin Suchin and Edward Thompson dance and sing during Sunday’s Hanukkah event. MONROE — The Chabad Jewish Center’s fifth annual public menorah lighting and Hanukkah celebration was touched with sadness this year. Sunday’s ceremony went beyond the usual festivities, with a tribute to the three Israeli soldiers who were captured and abducted last summer by Hezbollah. “Today, we gather here to say that as a Jewish community we are hurt, our hearts are broken, and we feel a sense of void, for members of our own family are missing from our midst,” Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky said. “We are bothered by this, and we will not let this go by quietly. We are in pain and when it hurts we scream, we scream loud and clear that we want our three brothers back, to be reunited with us, with their families, and we will not rest until then, and will do whatever it takes to have them back.” JESSICA SMITH Paul Barbakoff lights the menorah outside the Chabad Jewish Center in Monroe. Members of the community read the biographies of Ehud Goldwasser, 31, Eldad Regev, 26, and Gilad Schalit, 20, who were captured in Israel on July 12, sparking the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. The tribute was enhanced by a teleconference with Karnit Goldwasser, the wife of Ehud. “I had to celebrate my first anniversary alone, and also my first Hanukkah alone,” Goldwasser said. “Each one of you has one voice, but together we have one big voice. This is our obligation. This is our duty.” Goldwasser urged all in attendance to raise their voices by writing letters and e-mails to help the soldiers be released. Zaklikovsky spoke of the origins of Hanukkah, when the Jewish Maccabees defeated the Greek-Syrians and drove them out of Judea. It was considered a miracle that the Maccabees were able to triumph over the much larger Greek-Syrian army. “This was a conflict for freedom over oppression, for right over might, and for good over evil,” Zaklikovsky said. “These brave people answered the call of duty and they succeeded. And today we are here to celebrate that victory.” The miracle can happen again with God’s help, he said, and bring the three soldiers home to their families this Hanukkah. The soldiers’ well-being has remained a question since their capture. Monroe Township Councilwoman Leslie Koppel-Egierd lit the first candle of the menorah, also called the Shamash. Stanley Edelman, Monte Block and Paul Barbakoff lit the others. Singing and dancing followed the lighting. “As the menorah teaches us that even the darkest of places can be illuminated with just a little bit of light, so too will the light of the menorah bring forth hope, strength, courage and resilience to show the entire world that ultimately it is with our acts of goodness and kindness that we will be victorious. Light will prevail,” Zaklikovsky said. For information on how to help the three soldiers, e-mail Rabbi Zaklikovsky at rabbi@chabadmonroe.org. people answered the call of duty and they succeeded. And today we are here to celebrate that victory.” The miracle can happen again with God’s help, he said, and bring the three soldiers home to their families this Hanukkah. The soldiers’ well-being has remained a question since their capture. Monroe Township Councilwoman Leslie Koppel-Egierd lit the first candle of the menorah, also called the Shamash. Stanley Edelman, Monte Block and Paul Barbakoff lit the others. Singing and dancing followed the lighting. “As the menorah teaches us that even the darkest of places can be illuminated with just a little bit of light, so too will the light of the menorah bring forth hope, strength, courage and resilience to show the entire world that ultimately it is with our acts of goodness and kindness that we will be victorious. Light will prevail,” Zaklikovsky said. For information on how to help the three soldiers, e-mail Rabbi Zaklikovsky at rabbi@chabadmonroe.org.