NORFOLK, Va. — Thursday marks the first day of Hanukkah, and as the conflict continues overseas, the tone of this year’s celebration is a little different.
Still, students and community members gathered at Old Dominion University to light the menorah and celebrate together.
“There’s so much happening in the Jewish world, and I want them to have space where they think about the ways that they can be proud to be Jewish," said Endowed Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at ODU Amy Milligan.
Joining in the celebration was Attorney General Jason Miyares. Miyares emphasized the need to combat antisemitism at college campuses.
“You can both practice your First Amendment right, but no student should be looking over their shoulder in fear, and that’s one of our big concerns that we’ve seen is this massive uptick of concerned students," he said.
Last month, Miyares penned a letter directly addressing college and university presidents, saying quote “universities should do more to address anti-Semitism.”
“They need to make sure their campus police is involved. We want to both protect First Amendment, when it crosses over into either acts of violence or making a student feel like they’re eminently threatened, that’s very, very different areas," Miyares told 13News Now.
Across the water, students at William & Mary joined in the Festival of Lights as well. There, roughly 350 people participated in the campus celebration.
“It’s a celebration of joy. It’s a celebration of unity. It’s a celebration of Jewish pride," Rabbi Mendy Heber said. "We’re here to stay, despite the fact that people think they’re going to get rid of us."