'Hannukah Sameach': PM Modi extends Jewish festival wishes to Israel PM Naftali Bennett

Taking to Twitter, PM Narendra Modi extended wishes to the Jewish people across the world and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on the occasion of Hanukkah, an eight-day festival of lights. "Hanukkah Sameach, Prime Minister @naftalibennett, to you and the friendly people of Israel and the Jewish people around the world observing the 8-day festival of lights," he tweeted.

In reply, the Israeli PM said thank you and added that, together with the lights of the two nations, they shine brighter than ever. "Thank you, my dear friend, @narendramodi! Together, the light of our two nations shines brighter than ever, "he posted.

Meanwhile, the External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, also extended his greetings on the occasion and tagged his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid. Happy Hanukkah! "May the Jewish festival of lights bring joy, prosperity, and health to all those celebrating around the world," he wrote.

Both PM Modi and EAM Jaishankar tweeted their wishes in Hebrew. Notably, India shares a great rapport with Israel. The two countries have strong economic, military, and strategic ties. Over the years, India has emerged as one the largest buyers of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest supplier of defense equipment to India after Russia.

Hanukkah Festival: Jewish Festival of Lights, history, significance & importance

Every year, the Hanukkah festival is celebrated by Jewish people all across the globe on the 25th day of Kislev, as per the Hebrew calendar, which occurs sometime between late November and late December in the Gregorian calendar. The day is observed to commemorate the victory of Jews over Jerusalem and the subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean revolt fought against the Seleucid Empire in the second century BCE.

The day holds spiritual and religious importance as it is believed that Jews wanted to reclaim the temple and light its menorah, but they found olive oil for one day only, as per Chabad.org. That one-day stock of olive oil lasted eight days, which is considered a miracle in the Jewish faith. 

Hannukah is celebrated by lighting the menorah by Jews in a small group with friends or family. People gather for the celebrations and light candles throughout the eight days of the festival. On this day, Jews prepare traditional foods in oil to signify the miracle of the lamp burning for eight days. Some popular dishes prepared on this day include latkes and sufganiyot.

Image: AP