Global Synagogues Keep Lights On

More than 1,000 synagogues and Jewish institutions around the world will leave their exterior lights burning through the night on Monday. The collective effort marks the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom that occurred on November 9 and 10, 1938.

The annual “Spread the Light” campaign serves as a visual reminder of that night. During the pogrom, Jewish homes, businesses, and institutions across Germany and Austria were attacked. Hundreds of Jews were killed, and thousands were sent to concentration camps. Historians identify the event as a precursor to the Holocaust.

Participants are instructed to photograph their illuminated buildings and share the images on social media using the hashtag #SpreadtheLight. Dalia Yohanan, who coordinates the project through her organization Or Dolek, confirmed that at least 1,000 institutions participated last year. The initiative is jointly led by the Religious Kibbutz Movement and Yad Vashem.

Yohanan described the night as a clear turning point in the Nazi campaign to destroy the Jewish people. “After that, they saw that they could do anything they wanted and the world would be silent,” she said.

The initiative began in 2008 for the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Rabbi Yechiel Wasserman, then head of the Center for Religious Affairs in the Diaspora in the World Zionist Organization, launched the concept. Yohanan noted that the early efforts lacked publicity because social media was not yet prevalent. When the original leaders considered discontinuing the project, Yohanan took over coordination to ensure its continuation.

Yohanan’s personal connection to the event stems from her father, Naftali (Kurt) Wertheim. As a boy, Wertheim survived the night by hiding under a table while neighbors threw stones at his family’s windows. His parents subsequently sent him to Britain on a Kindertransport rescue train. They were later killed by the Nazis. Wertheim eventually settled in Israel and joined the kibbutz movement.

When Yohanan first saw the lights on in synagogues during the project’s early days, her father was overwhelmed with emotion. “He said it was such a beautiful sight to see the lights of the synagogue burning all night long,” she recalled.

Yohanan stated that the anniversary is now a time to celebrate the strengthening of Jewish identity. She emphasized that the day focuses on learning rather than mourning, a distinction she draws from other Holocaust memorial days. In a post-October 7 environment marked by fear and growing antisemitism, she said the event aims to support global Jewish communities.

“Many communities are afraid to shine their light externally, for fear of being seen by others,” Yohanan said. “This is our way of strengthening our brothers around the world and saying ‘We are with you.'”