BLUE ASH, Ohio — On the first night of Hanukkah, many gathered at Summit Park in Blue Ash to celebrate with a public menorah lighting. It's a tradition for many, made even more important as antisemitic incidents rise across the country.
The event drew in families like Alyssa Krupinski's, who recently moved to Cincinnati from D.C.
"Because we moved here, it's just me that is continuing the tradition," she said.
Her husband isn't Jewish, so they celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. An event like this is important to her to help teach her kids about Jewish traditions.
"Allow them to have other people that they can see who celebrate the same holidays that they do," Krupinski said.
These holidays are happening amid rising antisemitism. The Anti-Defamation League reported an all-time high in antisemitic incidents in 2021. That's a 34% increase from the year before.
Since 2016, the number of incidents are trending upward, so for many, events like this one are even more important.
"Holidays should be celebrated every year, but especially now with the spike of antisemitism, the proper and the best response to antisemitism always was Jewish pride," Rabbi Yisroel Mangel, with the Chabad Jewish Center of Cincinnati said.
This was the Krupinski's first public menorah lighting and the rise in antisemitism is a big reason why.
"When they hear so much with antisemitism and things negatively said about Jewish people, I want them to feel pride in who they are and that they are Jewish," Krupinski said.
So, despite the cold, they gathered with many others to light the menorah and celebrate.
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