Tiananmen Square: Testifying to a Miracle of Liberation

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
It may be a light unto a whole different set of nations but in the capital of China the Hanukkah lights are shining bright. At the Zhengyang archery tower at the south end of Tiananmen Square, Beijing, a (very large) Hanukkiah is being lit to commemorate another people at another time who threw off the yoke of oppression to march to freedom (or at least to potentially misguided self-determination).
For a space better known for tanks crushing students, it’s nice to know there’s a light of hope shining. Word on the tastiness of Chinese sofganiot has yet to escape official censors.
Hat tip to our man in Beijing, Nick Frisch, and his Hanukkah revellers.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
