[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 48 (Monday, December 6, 1999)]
[Page 2474]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Message on the Observance of Hanukkah, 1999

November 30, 1999

    Warm greetings to everyone celebrating Hanukkah.
    This joyous Festival of Lights commemorates the rededication of the 
Jews' Holy Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over oppression 
and the rekindling of the Temple's sacred oil lamp. That victory, 
recounted in ancient Jewish writings, is one of history's earliest 
recorded battles for religious freedom. More than two thousand years 
have passed since Judah the Maccabee and his courageous followers 
refused to reject their faith in God, their customs, and their religious 
traditions; but today people across the globe still struggle for the 
freedom to worship according to their own conscience.
    As Jews throughout America and around the world gather with family 
and friends to light the menorah and remember the miracle of God's 
presence in our lives and history, let us all give thanks for the 
blessed light of religious freedom in our nation. And let us be mindful, 
in our thoughts, prayers, and actions, of those who still must live in 
the shadow of oppression.
    Hillary joins me in extending best wishes to all for a memorable 
Hanukkah observance and for peace and joy in the coming year.
                                                  Bill Clinton