President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda took part in the Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony at the Presidential Palace. During the ceremony, Andrzej Duda stressed that the event is a long-standing tradition at the Presidential Palace, initiated on 18 December 2006 by the late Prof. Lech Kaczyński.

“We are grateful that we can host you and with great joy participate in the lighting of the Hanukkah candles. This event is important in the daily life, faith and traditions of an important part of our community in the Polish Republic – including today. We have a great tradition of co-existence of Polish and Jewish nations, and many others, whose descendants are still among us today”, said the President.

As he pointed out, the Jewish tradition is the longest. It has a deep symbolism of rebirth and survival throughout the most difficult times. The President also spoke about the events of recent days.

“Today, Israel is in a difficult time, with many families still waiting for the return of their loved ones, just as we are waiting, so all hostages who remain in the hands of Hamas can return home safely. We hope that with our support, our citizen Alex Dancyg will also be able to return peacefully to his relatives. We are constantly making efforts in this direction”, the President stressed.

Andrzej Duda added that the head of the National Security Office, Jacek Siewiera, and the special envoy, advisor Rafał Kos, are holding talks on the subject.

The lighting of Hanukkah candles takes place on the occasion of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. Monday 11 December 2023 (5784 Jewish year) marks the 5th day of the holiday (Hanukkah 2023 started on the evening of Thursday 7 December and will last until sunset on Friday 15 December), so on Monday, 5 candles are lit on the Hanukkah candlestick. In addition, at the beginning of the ceremony, the highest-positioned auxiliary candle (the shamash) is lit.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński