President Isaac Herzog lit the first Hanukkah candle in a Nov. 28 ceremony in the Cave of the Patriarchs, and controversy continues to roil Israel two days after the event. The shrine sits over the burial place of the biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the contested city of Hebron. Sacred to both Muslims and Jews, it is considered one of the most explosive sites in the region.
Herzog’s move was inevitably condemned by the international community, with the Palestinian Authority behind some of the sharpest attacks against the president. But it was also denounced by Knesset members from the Israeli left who supported Herzog’s candidacy for president less than half a year ago.
