Bellows Bars Trump from Ballot in Maine

Bellows Bars Trump from Ballot in Maine
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
December 29, 2023

If four Colorado state Supreme Court justices was not a small enough number of unelected individuals to determine who an entire state should have the right for whom to vote, try one. Yes, in the state of Maine, one person, one person unelected by popular vote, the state secretary of state, unilaterally determined that the entire voting population of the Pine Tree State should be prevented from casting their ballot in their upcoming primary for former President Donald Trump. 

Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state, singularly disqualified Trump, pending appeal, from appearing on the March 5, 2024 primary ballot. “I likewise conclude that Mr. Trump was aware of the likelihood for violence and at least initially supported its use given he both encouraged it with incendiary rhetoric and took no timely action to stop it,” wrote Bellows in her statement on Thursday, December 28.

Trump has five days to challenge the Bellows decision in Maine Superior Court. His campaign already announced the forthcoming challenge.

Bellows must be clairvoyant,  citing her conclusion “Trump was aware… ” Does Bellows know what’s in the head or on the mind of the former president? She based her disqualification on a feeling, without any discernible evidence, and without either a charge or conviction of Trump of any lawbreaking. This flimsy case to remove Trump from the primary ballot in Maine is about as solid as a house of cards in front of an oscillating fan.

Bellows, a solid partisan Democrat who served in the Maine state senate before the state legislature selected her to be secretary of state, is not an attorney. She also served as one of the three Biden electors for the presidential election of 2020, and can be seen looking very chummy with Biden in a photo taken in March of this year. What is evident, is a pure case of election interference and the disenfranchisement of more than 832,000 registered voters in the state of Maine. (www.worldpopulationreview.com)

Yet, on Friday, December 29, the very next morning, Bellows suspended her ruling, pending the appeal by the Trump campaign, saying she doesn’t have the power to remove a candidate from the ballot. Her ruling is stayed until a ruling by the Maine Supreme Court.

Bellows, as also cited in the Colorado case, referenced Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution as the rationale behind her decision to exclude Trump from the primary ballot. Yet many, including legal expert Alan Dershowitz, noted Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which references “insurrection or rebellion,” had the intent of keeping former members of the Confederacy from the War Between the States from serving in elected office. 

“It’s clearly unconstitutional. The Constitution provides for the disqualification of those who fought in the Civil War. Now Trump’s old, but not old enough to have fought in the Civil War…. I’m not a Trump supporter, but I want the right to vote against Trump, just like you have the right to vote for Trump, and that right can’t be denied us by a Colorado court, or a Michigan court, or by any court. It’s just not the way the Constitution operates,” said Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School.

And while the word “insurrection” from Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is bandied about so freely, and Trump has neither been charged with, or convicted of such, that same passage also says “or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” In that case, why not disqualify Joe Biden from appearing on ballots for giving aid and comfort to enemies of the United States on at least three counts. Biden gave the Islamic Republic of Iran $16 billion, which has freed up the same amount to be used for expanding its potential nuclear capability - the likes of which has been threatened against the United States (the big satan) and Israel (the little satan). Biden has sold off oil reserves to the Chinese Communist Party, while Americans are being hammered at gas pumps all across the nation. Biden’s disastrous open border policy has allowed eight to 10 million illegal aliens into the United States, unvetted, of no known status, and a number of known terrorists have been captured. But, how many of the “got-aways” are terrorists plotting nefarious acts inside the borders of the United States?

Yet, neither Trump nor Biden have been charged or convicted. “If no convictions are required under Shenna Bellows’ rules then that’s why this is such a dangerous game she’s created,” said John Andrews, a Republican state representative. “She opened the door to election chaos. Even extremely progressive Democrat Jared Golden (ME-2) said she’s in the wrong, that he doesn’t like Trump, but he should be on the ballot. I applaud him for saying that because he’s correct; it’s the right move,” said Andrews.

In other words, before jumping to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, don’t skip over Section 1. “...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Due process. How about that?

Due process may have been in the back of Bellows’ mind when tweeting the following on January 4, 2022: “The fundamental right of any American citizen to vote freely, fairly and to have their vote counted is the premise of our democracy. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are not values to be compromised away. #FreedomToVoteAct” But somehow, she hypocritically forgot her own words - and smart words at that, when determining unilaterally, that the former president should not appear on Maine ballots. Bellows, a former executive director with the Maine ACLU, and a potential candidate for governor in 2026, seems more than a bit power hungry.

This sort of megalomania is being exhibited in 13 additional states who have lawsuits to bar Trump from their ballots: Alaska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Republicans are almost certain to carry Alaska, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming. That’s 58 potential electoral votes Trump would be excluded from garnering, and an almost certain defeat at the polls.

Attempts to remove Trump are “the M.O. of the Democrat elite,” said former US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, adding that these kinds of tactics are just one reason she left the Democrat Party.  “They will stop at nothing to try and maintain their power even if it means taking away the right to vote of Americans. There’s no issues taking Trump off the ballot. They have no issue in pursuing him, persecuting him through a weaponized and politicized Department of Justice. It’s ridiculous that we’re having this conversation here in the United States of America, when I have heard and seen how the warhawks in Washington - they will see this happen in other countries. They’ll be very quick to say, we must go and intervene, we must go and topple this banana republic or the dictatorship. Many of these same people are the people who are driving this. It’s not just Democrats. There are Republicans who are threatened by President Trump’s unwillingness to buy into their establishment ways,” said Gabbard.

Yet, even in a state as liberal as California, the secretary of state, Shirley N. Weber announced that President Trump will appear on the Golden State’s primary ballots. Michigan and Minnesota previously announced likewise. These left of center states understand what is at stake - making sure the voters, the people for whom the politicians work, have the greatest access possible to support the candidates of their choice.

This is not about liking Trump or disliking Trump. Nor is this about liking Biden or disliking Biden. This is about the will of the people to freely choose their elected officials, whether for president, the Senate, the House of Representatives, or any office down ballot to the candidates for the school board. For a single individual, or the slimmest majority of a state court to determine for millions of voters for whom they should be allowed to vote, is the kind of dangerous precedent seen in places like the Chinese Communist Party, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Russia, where roughly two dozen potential opponents to Vladimir Putin have been squelched from the ballot.

It is imperative for the United States Supreme Court to step up with a unanimous nine to nothing vote denying the states the ability to keep a presidential candidate off the ballot when there is no legal reason to do so. Anything short of total unanimity will send the wrong message. That a divided court, even at eight to one, leaves open the door for the possibility that a future court, one that leans in a different direction, will determine states can willy-nilly bar a candidate from its ballot in an effort to remain in power. This would be a most dangerous precedent, from which there is no turning back, and this republic would cease to exist. 

When the voters lose their right to choose, which is sacrosanct, the nation loses itself, giving way to despots and dictators the likes of which have been seen in the Chinese Communist Party, Cuba, the Islamic Republic of Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Venezuela. When the United States of America ceases to be that “shining city on a hill,” that beacon of hope for the truly oppressed, when people lose their freedoms of speech and religion, their right to peacefully protest their government, we become those other despotic regimes and the world as we know it, is damned. As we head into 2024, let’s fight like hell, in unison - Democrats, Republicans, Independents, even the apathetic who don’t vote, to maintain the freedoms we cherish, and remember the words of the 40th president.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it along to our children in our bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” - President Ronald Reagan.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Corrupt Colorado Court Cancels Trump

Corrupt Colorado Court Cancels Trump
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
December 24, 2023

In these United States it is the people who determine elections - who is nominated, and ultimately, who is elected. It is third world, despotic, totalitarian, banana republics where the will of the people is shunned.

And yet, in the Centennial State, the Supreme Court of Colorado, by the slimmest of a four to three majority, decided for all the people when they barred former President Donald Trump from appearing on the primary election ballots of Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

It’s shocking that four seemingly intelligent people with law degrees could make such a myopic ruling on Tuesday, December 19. But apparently not all law degrees are considered equal. Appearing on the Fox News noon program Outnumbered, Michele Tafoya aptly noted, “When you talk about the four judges who voted in favor of this - they’re from Penn Law School, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and Virginia. And the three who didn’t vote for this, were all, I think, from Denver - University of Denver.”

Tafoya thought and remembered correctly. The four justices voting to bar Trump from the Colorado primary election ballot were Richard L. Gabriel (University of Pennsylvania Law), Melissa Hart (Harvard Law), William W. Hood III (University of Virginia Law), and Monica M. Marquez (Yale Law). The three dissenting justices, Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright, Carlos Samour, Jr., and Maria E. Berkenkotter, are, in fact, University of Denver Law graduates - and kudos to them for putting politics aside when casting their all important votes. All seven Colorado Supreme Court justices are Democrats.

This is yet, “another reflection on the Ivy League mentality of judicial activism,” said Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter.

Chief Justice Boatman “wrote that he believes Colorado election law ‘was not enacted to decide whether a candidate engaged in insurrection,’ and said he would have dismissed the challenge to Trump’s eligibility.”

Opposition to this decision came from both sides of the aisle, swiftly and strongly, as well as from several key legal scholars and constitutional experts. 

US Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) posted the following on X, on Wednesday, December 20. “Do I believe Trump’s guilty of inspiring an insurrection and doing nothing to stop it? I was there. Absolutely. Do I believe it’s wrong to ban him from the ballot in Colorado without a conviction? Absolutely. Do I believe SCOTUS must opine immediately? Absolutely.” 

Phillips is mired in his own ballot battle. He has announced his candidacy for president as a Democrat challenging Joe Biden, but the Democrat Party has all but ruled out any primary elections. Talk about a serious disenfranchisement of the voters.

That is one of the reasons Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. opted to throw his hat into the presidential ring as an independent - lack of the democratic process amongst the Democrats and their so-called leadership. Kennedy also weighed in on the disastrous Colorado court decision.

“Every American should be troubled by the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove President Trump from the ballot,” posted Kennedy on X, December 19. “The court has deprived him of a consequential right without having been convicted of a crime. This was done without an evidentiary hearing in which he is given the basic right of confronting his accusers. When any candidate is deprived of his right to run, the American people are deprived of their right to choose,” continued Kennedy, a graduate of the law school at the University of Virginia.

The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision… and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision,” said Steven Cheung, spokesman for the Trump campaign.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a candidate for the Republican nomination, posted the following on X on December 19. “I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot until Trump is also allowed to be on the ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley do the same - immediately - or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country.”

Christie did likewise, adding, “Trump should be prevented from being President of the United States by the voters of this country,” in a December 19 X posting.

While DeSantis did not join Ramaswamy and Christie, he did post that the left is using “judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal  ground. SCOTUS should reverse.”

“It’s truly unthinkable,” said GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, for unelected judges to make such a decision. “The people of Colorado should be furious,” by their own state court’s ruling, said the former Ambassador to the United Nations. “We should have this race fair and square and have him on the ballot,” continued the former governor of South Carolina. Haley went on to say she will beat Trump fairly and squarely.

The Colorado Republican Party said, “we will withdraw from the Primary as a Party and convert to a pure caucus system if this is allowed to stand,” in a December 19 post on X.

As is typical, liberals, progressives, and Democrats, as evidenced by the Democrat Party’s reluctance or refusal to hold primary elections, believe less is more. That they have to emperil democracy in order to save democracy. This is a bizarre notion - burning down the house in order to preserve the house. Does this sound remotely logical to anyone? Limiting choices for the voters, not expanding the choices. Aren’t the Democrats all about choice? 

No, they are not. The only choice they want for the American people is that of ending the lives of their unborn children. Liberals and progressives oppose choice when it comes to educating the children they allow to be born. They oppose choice when it comes to Americans and their health care options. They oppose choice when it comes to the right to either get a vaccine or not get a vaccine. Liberals and progressives are trying to end the people’s right to choose gas-operating vehicles, the right to choose gas-run stoves and ovens.

And the same is true of liberals and progressives trying to limit for whom the American people can vote. Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said of the ruling, it is “not only historic and justified, but is  necessary to protect the future of democracy in our country.” His organization and two law firms filed the lawsuit against Trump on behalf of six Coloradans: Norma Anderson, Christopher Castilian, Claudine Cmarada, Krista Kafer, Michelle Priola, and Kathi Wright.

In the Colorado Supreme Court ruling, the majority wrote, “we conclude that because President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section 3 [of the 14th Amendment] it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Secretary to list President Trump as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot. Therefore the Secretary may not list President Trump’s name on the 2024 presidential primary ballot, nor may she count any write-in votes cast for him.”

How obtuse. Such a decision will only harm democracy and the evidence has come fast and furiously. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a Republican, suggested that perhaps Texas should deny Joe Biden ballot placement for not securing the Southwestern border and allowing around 10 million illegal aliens to invade the United States. After all, according to the 14th Amendment, Section 3, which those supporting the banning of Trump from the ballot are clinging to, Biden has given aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States - in two ways. One, the allowance of millions of unvetted foreign nationals to take up residence in the United States, and two, giving the Islamic Republic of Iran at least $16 billion, to be used for nefarious purposes against American troops and the troops of American allies.

And back and forth it will go. There are an additional 14 states with lawsuits to bar Trump from those state ballots. Suits from Arizona and Michigan are pending appeal. The following states are filing lawsuits: Alaska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

There are numerous faulty ideas within the majority statement. First of all, the Colorado Supreme Court has concluded that Trump is disqualified from holding office when no other legal entity has deemed such. Trump has neither been charged with, nor found guilty of engaging in insurrection, as per Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. When does the Election Code of a state supersede federal election law? And then there’s the point about not counting write-in votes cast for Trump. While the states typically each have their own rules and/or policies pertaining to write-in votes, to not count votes cast is to completely disregard the will of the voters, disenfranchising each one casting such a ballot.

Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell said, “the system is being challenged,” during an appearance on the Fox News program The Faulkner Focus on December 20. “What makes us unique is our rule of law and it’s being questioned. Trump haters are now supporting Trump on the issue that he deserves to be on the ballot. He deserves to face the voters, not four judges, and this is our problem right now - our legal system being tested. This is why the Supreme Court has to rule nine to zero - those judges know what is right and nine to zero is the only ruling that they could come up with,” said Terrell.

In commenting on the Colorado decision and opinion, legal expert Alan Dershowitz said, “It’s clearly unconstitutional. Any talk or accusation of insurrection would prove enough to bar someone, but Trump was never charged or found guilty. There is nothing to this argument - it’s just a political ploy. It is the most undemocratic decision imaginable, [the] most unconstitutional decision I’ve seen in a long time. Taking away the right to vote? It’s your right to vote,” said Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School. “I’m not a Trump supporter, but I want the right to vote against Trump, just like you have the right to vote for Trump, and that right can’t be denied us. The Supreme Court should reverse this and put an end to this nonsense, ” he said.

“It is strikingly anti-democratic, in my view,” said George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, on The Ingraham Angle, on December 19. “In my view the court is dead wrong. This is the first  major win for the challengers. I think the opinion is really chilling and I think the Supreme Court will make fast work of this - I hope that it does. I think this court did great damage to its own integrity with this opinion. When you read this opinion, the one thing that keeps on recurring is, where’s the limiting principle here? Each of these barriers, the court could have adopted a fairly moderate, or more narrow approach, but it didn’t. On every one of these issues it really took out all the fail safes and went to the broadest possible meaning. That means that states can engage in a tit-for-tat type of series of decisions - you could have red states blocking Biden on some ballots, and blue states blocking Trump.”

In light of the Colorado decision, California’s Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D) wants to follow suit. In a letter to California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Kounalakis wrote, “I urge you to explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California’s 2024 presidential primary ballot… this is a dire matter that puts at stake the sanctity of our Constitution and our democracy.”

Kounalakis couldn’t be more wrong. But then, this is the same person who said two of the qualifications to serve as president of the United States included reaching the age of 40 and not having committed insurrection. According to Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution, “No person except a natural born Citizen,… shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”

Even members of the so-called mainstream media understand the jeopardy the republic would be placed in should the Colorado decision be allowed to stand. Ruth Marcus, in her editorial for The Washington Post wrote, on December 20, “The Supreme Court should toss the Colorado case…. The best outcome, for the court and the country, would be for a unanimous court… to clear the way for Trump to run.”

In the far-left Slate, Lawrence Lessig wrote on December 20, “The Supreme Court must unanimously strike down Trump’s ballot removal.” These folks, and certainly Dershowitz, will not be lining up next November to cast their ballots for Donald Trump. But they are intelligent enough to know the damage to the system of elections many other countries turn to would create not just in the United States, but for the stability of elections the world over.

Removing a candidate from a ballot is what puts at stake the sanctity of our Constitution and democracy, to borrow Kounalakis’ words. Again, Trump has neither been charged nor convicted of encouraging, coercing, or engaging in an insurrection. The attempts to remove Trump or any candidate, from ballots in any state is what is truly deleterious to the future of the republic. When the party in power attempts to remove opposition candidates from any ballot, that partisanship is the work of despots and totalitarians, and is not limited to just supplanting Trump.

Trump has said the following on more than one occasion, but last week may never have been more poignant. “They want to silence me, because I will never let them silence you. And in the end, they’re not after me, they’re after you, I just happen to be standing in their way,” he said during a campaign speech in Waterloo, IA.

“This country is the most successful and stable constitutional system in history. Now, after two centuries of that, what these four justices have done was to introduce a destabilizing element in that system,” said Turley. “This may be the ultimate challenge for Chief Justice Roberts. I don’t have much question they will overturn this decision, but they should do it unanimously. They should do it in one voice - all nine - not divide on this - it’s too important not to speak as one,” concluded Turley.

When constitutional experts like Dershowitz and Turley speak in language with such gravity regarding the future of the electoral system of the United States, it is best to heed the messengers. The partisan machinations by liberals and progressives will most certainly tear down the current system. Today they are going after Trump, tomorrow maybe DeSantis, Haley, or any yet to be thought of candidate from either side of the aisle. The Democrats have already pushed RFK, Jr. out of the party and determined there would be no primaries. When no candidates are safe from removal from the ballot by the shortsightedness and hubris of a handful of unelected judges, the system will have crumbled under its own weight and the republic will cease to exist. It is up to we the people to prevent the death of the republic by speaking out and ensuring as many candidates as possible appear on the ballots in all 50 states and thus secure the preservation and salvation of our republic. OUR republic.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

This Chanukah Shine a Brighter Light on Antisemitism

This Chanukah Shine a Brighter Light on Antisemitism
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
December 4, 2023

While the war in Israel heats up once again, thanks to Hamas violating the cease fire, it is also time to focus our attention on the heat of a more serene nature. That would be the heat emanating from the lights to be kindled starting Thursday night as the Jewish community the world over ushers in Chanukah - the Festival of Lights.

Thursday night December 7 (also Pearl Harbor Day - lest we forget), Kislev 25 on the Jewish calendar is the commencement of a festival celebrating sovereignty, religious rights and freedom, as well as protecting and recapturing a homeland that had been many times invaded by Greeks, Persians, Romans, and Syrians.

The mere dates and locations of the history of Chanukah is proof positive that the Jewish people are the rightful residents in the Holy Land - the Land of Israel. The history of Chanukah dates back more than 2000 years - long before Palestinians or Muslims invaded the Jewish Biblical, ancestral, historical homeland of the Jewish people - the indigenous peoples of Israel. The history of Chanukah includes the lands of Judea and Jerusalem.

Chanukah - the Festival of Lights - where we do not hide behind masks as Israel’s and the Jewish people’s adversaries do, nor do we hide in the dark. The Jewish people shine a light as a beacon for the world to see the results of peace and freedom - the same freedom many Arab Israelis have attested that they enjoy as Israelis and not in any Arab/Muslim country.

This year, that beacon of light is ever more important to fight the ignorance that is mounting, virulent Antisemitism from coast to coast in the United States on far too numerous college campuses, in city streets, where violence and vandalism has been growing more frequent akin to Kristallnacht. (https://sanfordspeaksout.blogspot.com/2023/11/jew-hating-like-its-1938.html)

This year, that beacon of light is ever more important to fight the arrogance that campus denizens who clearly have never learned a lick of history, deign to make demands of a foreign government (almost as arrogant as the Biden administration - see Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken). Their arrogance to clamor for a cease fire that heretofore existed on October 6 before Hamas shattered it with their invasion of Israel, their slaughter of 1,400 Israeli civilians, the rape of innocent girls and women, the decapitation of babies, and the kidnapping of more than 240 innocent people from Israel, the United States, Italy, Mexico, and many other nations ranging in ages from, then eight months, to 85 years old. 

It is beyond arrogance when there is video evidence of these crimes against humanity perpetrated by Hamas and uploaded by Hamas, which is then ignored by the useful idiots on campus and within the so-called mainstream media. And useful idiots they are, if they think for one second they themselves would be spared by Hamas - in their anti-Sharia dress, their signs of support for the gay and trans communities, and the self-loathing Jews siding with Hamas. Once again, this arrogance and ignorance stems from a paucity of historical data and knowledge. 

They are arrogant to think their calls for a two state solution will succeed - whether those calls come from campus or the White House - it is demonstrative of their lack of knowledge of history. All anyone need do is read the charters as established by both Hamas and Hezbollah to LEARN that a two state solution is untenable when one of the states only wants the eradication of the other state and the death of the people of that state. Those supporting a two state solution, those supporting Hamas, those chanting the death mantra of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” only seek two things - the destruction of Israel and the death of the Jewish people. They may claim to be pro-Palestinian, but they, in reality, are anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic, anti-American, anti-capitalist, anti-democracy, and anti-Western Civilization. They have been indoctrinated to believe in a black and white set of options - oppressors and oppressed, that Israel with its success represents the West, represents white people, and therefore could not be the oppressed peoples, and could only be the oppressors. Once again, the lack of knowledge of history plays a key role.

The reality is that when Israel vacated Gaza in 2005, it left intact the infrastructure - buildings, green houses, schools, hospitals, that would in turn be razed by Hamas, the ruling faction elected in 2006. Hamas has not held a single election since. Hamas has prevented its own people from relocating. Hamas hides behind its children and most vulnerable using them as human shields. Hamas has used billions of dollars worth of materials designated for the infrastructure of Gaza to build more than 300 miles of rather intricate tunnel systems from which to wage war, store weapons, and ammunition under and in hospitals, children’s bedrooms, even mosques - their own holy house of worship. From the category of good versus evil, they could have used their engineering smarts for the betterment of the Gazan people and live life instead of worshiping a cult of death as Hamas does. Learning this and additional genuine history would be a great 2023 Chanukah miracle.

Israel is neither an occupier nor a colonialist as is incorrectly bandied about during the less than peaceful protests and on signs. The Greeks and Syrians occupied present day Israel more than 2000 years ago - including during 222-186 BCE (Before the Common Era), under Antiochus III, king of Syria - oppressing the Jewish people in their Biblical and ancestral homeland. Upon the death of Antiochus III, his son Seleucus IV took the reins, imposing even greater taxes on the Jewish people in an effort to pay his own debt to the Romans. Hellenists attempted to force the Jewish people to worship Hellenist idols, but the Jews resisted as “Judaism emphasizes truth and moral purity, as commanded by G-d in the Holy Torah.” (chabad.org) Seems the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas crowd, “can’t handle the truth,” to borrow from Jack Nicholson’s Col. Nathan Jessep in A Few Good Men (1992).

Upon the death of Seleucus, his brother Antiochus IV began his reign (174 BCE) - a worse tyrant than his brother before him - responsible for the slaughter of thousands of Jews in the Holy Land. Antiochus IV inflicted numerous Antisemitic laws against the Jewish people, such as forbidding Jewish worship (confiscation of, and burning of Torahs), prohibition of Shabbat observance, circumcisions, and kashrut (observance of dietary laws), all under penalty of death.

This occupation and the Draconian laws imposed upon the Jewish people lead to a series of military battles. The Jewish people won the war for their sovereignty and religious freedoms. (This is something the people of Gaza can do as well for themselves - against Hamas - their de facto masters.) The victory by the Jewish people came under the leadership of Judah, son of Mattityahu, the old priest. Mattityahu instructed the people to “follow the counsel of… Shimon the Wise,” and “their leader should be Judah the Strong,” a.k.a. Judah the Maccabee. (chabad.org)

Judah and his fellow Maccabees returned to Jerusalem, freed their people, and restored their Holy Temple to the Jewish people - only after clearing it of idols, properly cleaning it, and built a new altar dedicated on 25 Kislev 139 BCE. When lighting the new menorah, there seemed to be only enough oil for one night, but “by a miracle of G-d, it continued to burn for eight days,” until new oil became available. (chabad.org)

This very  brief history of Chanukah includes the freeing of Judea - recovered by the Jewish people having been overrun by Syrian armies. The Jewish people celebrated their victory with gratitude to G-d, with Psalms and offerings in a period of thanksgiving.

This second Holy Temple stood for another 210 years (420 in total) until its destruction in 70 CE (Common Era) by the Roman invaders. Jews lived under foreign rule and occupation by Greeks, Persians, Romans, and Syrians.

There are two schools of thought regarding the lighting of the Chanukah menorah. One starts with eight candles and removes one each night until there is but one candle on the eighth night. The other school of thought, and the one followed by global Judaism, is to add a candle each night until there are eight on the eighth night, thus adding to the light, making it brighter, not depleting it, making it darker. There is one additional candle for each night, plus a “leader” candle - the shamash - designated to light all the others.

This year it has been suggested that Jewish people either not light their menorahs or keep them hidden so as not to be seen from the outside in light of the war and the exponential rise in rabid Antisemitism (up 388 percent since October 7 - as per the ADL) around the globe. When the menorah is lit, it should be either in a doorway or on a windowsill so as to BE visible. 

In 2023 that tradition will be upheld once again. We will not be deterred by ignorance. In fact, there have been postings on social media that non-Jews also put a menorah or candles in their doorway or on their windowsill to demonstrate their support of Israel and their Jewish friends and neighbors. Let’s shine a brighter light to rid the world of the oldest hatred - Antisemitism, and create yet another Chanukah miracle. Wishing all a happy, healthy, and meaningful Festival of Lights with plenty of latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot  (jelly doughnuts), while praying for the miracle of the return of the remaining 137 hostages held by Hamas.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He last visited Israel in 2019 with his wife.

For proper Blessings for Chanukah, menorah, and candles, please visit: https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/5746657/jewish/Menorah-Blessings.htm