Yad Vashem and the Religious Kibbutz Movement are jointly leading the ‘Spread the Light’ initiative to commemorate 88 years since Kristallnacht, inviting communities across Israel and the Diaspora to participate in commemorative events on Monday.
Kristallnacht, known as the Night of Broken Glass, occurred during the night between November 9 and 10, 1938. During the pogroms across Germany and Austria, the windows of Jewish homes, public buildings, and businesses were shattered, hundreds of Jews were murdered, thousands were sent to concentration camps, and almost all synagogues in Germany were burned, foreshadowing the horrors of the Holocaust.
Speaking with The Jerusalem Post, Dalia Wertheim-Yohanan, Director of the Spread the Light initiative and a resident of Kibbutz Tirat Tzvi, recalled that the project began 18 years ago to mark the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht when Rabbi Yechiel Wasserman, then head of the Center for Religious Affairs in the Diaspora in the World Zionist Organization, proposed turning on synagogue lights and leaving them burning throughout the night.
When the idea reached her community, her late father, Naphtali, a Holocaust survivor who experienced Kristallnacht as a nine-year-old child in Germany, was deeply moved. “Dalia, they are going to leave the lights on in the shul,” she recalled him saying, deeply excited by the prospect.
Remembering how he hid under the table while stones shattered their home’s windows and crowds shouted outside in German that synagogues were burning, her father expressed profound emotion at the sight of synagogue lights burning through the night. Inspired by his reaction, Wertheim-Yohanan sought to ensure the commemoration continued annually, noting, “I really wanted it to happen, so I looked to the right and to the left, and nobody else took it. So I started.”
What began as local efforts gradually expanded, with Wertheim-Yohanan organizing the project as a voluntary endeavor alongside her work as a high school teacher. Over time, the Religious Kibbutz Movement joined, followed a few years ago by Yad Vashem, whose professional partnership has helped drive the project’s growth.
The scope of participating institutions has broadened significantly in recent years beyond traditional synagogues to encompass public spaces and organizations across Israel, including Yad Lebanim centers dedicated to commemorating fallen soldiers, as well as universities, theaters, and military bases.
Describing how the global commemoration unfolds across time zones, Wertheim-Yohanan explained how photographs roll in sequentially, noting that “the first pictures are coming, of course, from Australia and New Zealand, and then a little bit later from the Far East, and then Israel, and then Europe, and then United States, and then South America. So you can see how around the world the lights are turning on and staying on all night, step by step.”
‘Not just a day of sadness’
Wertheim-Yohanan told the Post that the initiative carries heightened significance amid rising antisemitism globally since the outbreak of the war in Israel in October 2023. She shared that diaspora Jewish communities face distinct challenges, noting that “many communities are afraid to do it; they want to leave the light on, but they are very afraid.” She also mentioned how communities in Ukraine “have to turn the lights off at 11 o’clock because they have blackouts because of the war.”
Wertheim-Yohanan noted that she encourages schools and local groups to bring younger generations into the conversation. “We ask the communities, please do something. Add learning, add gatherings,” she said, explaining that activities range from Torah study and song to discussions on Jewish identity. Noting that programs vary widely, she added that “if there is a community of students at Boston University, they won’t say exactly the same words that people who are pensioners in Beersheba would, but this is the right night to talk about Jewish identity, to talk about the meaning of the synagogue and the meaning of Jewish identity for all of us.”
Wertheim-Yohanan stressed that she does not want the annual date to be defined solely by sorrow or looking back at destruction. Instead, she wants to infuse it with life, action, and connection, telling the Post, “I don’t want it to just be a day of sadness.”
‘From heart to heart’
Wertheim-Yohanan spoke of her family’s background, her father arriving in England via the Kindertransport and her mother’s immigration to Israel, or aliyah, stating her deep commitment to fostering solidarity between Israelis and the Diaspora. “I feel all my life that we Israelis must speak ‘mi-lev el lev’ [from heart to heart] to the Jews in the Diaspora,” she said. “I want them to feel that we are brothers, that we are the same family, and I’m not sure that we, the Israelis, are making enough effort to give them that feeling that the state of Israel is also for them.”
Communities participating in this year’s commemoration are encouraged to document their events and share photographs of their illuminated synagogues on social media using the hashtag #Or_Dolek.
Chen Shahar, Head of the Culture Section at Yad Vashem, told The Jerusalem Post, “The ‘Spread the Light’ initiative carries a powerful message: where the Nazis sought to extinguish Jewish life and erase its presence, we choose to illuminate, remember, and reaffirm its enduring place in our world. By lighting up public buildings and community institutions, we transform remembrance into a visible act of collective responsibility.”
“This is not only about honoring the past, but also about recognizing the dangers of antisemitism and the importance of standing against hatred and indifference today. Yad Vashem, together with the Religious Kibbutz Movement, invites communities and institutions around the world to join this initiative on November 9, turning a simple act of light into a shared statement of remembrance, Jewish continuity, and solidarity,” Shahar told the Post.
Follow us on GoogleSource: The Jerusalem Post · ALEX CARSON
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