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Eight Nights: A Spiritual Perspective
Nobel Peach Prize Winner:
One for Each Night of Chanukah
Holiday
Central Editor: Rivka C. Berman
The Maccabees took up swords against the battle elephants and battalions
of Syrian-Greek soldiers in a fight for religious freedom. Like the
Maccabbees in their times, so does every generation since pay a price
fighting for social justice and social freedoms for all men.
As we light our Chanukah candles, let us honor the men and women who won
the Nobel Peace Prize, for bearing their country's burdens of finding
peace. Abraham Blank compiled the following list of Nobel Peace Prize
Laureates:
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Night One - Freedom of A Nation
Light one candle and think about
1· Mahatma Gandhi who peacefully achieved
the hopes of a nation. He fought against the odds without the use of
violent firearms.
Night Two - Putting A Stop to Violence
Light two candles and think about
1· Mairead Corrigan
2· Betty Williams (Laureates in 1977) Two
women, who worked to minimize the violence in Ireland. Ms. Corrigan and
Ms. Williams worked together despite their differences.
Night Three - An End to Racism
Light three candles and think about
1· Nelson Mandela
2· Desmond Tutu
3· Fredrick de Klerk
The three Laureates who ended the racist Apartheid state in South
Africa, and worked tirelessly to heal the wounds of an entrenched
injustice.
Night Four - Helping the Less Fortunate
Light four candles and think about
ways to help the poor and
downtrodden.
1· Mother Theresa (Laureate in 1979) who
took Calcutta's outcasts under her wing.
2· Albert Schweitzer (Laureate in 1952)
who transformed high-minded ideals into action by opening a hospital in
a poor section of Africa.
3· Martin Luther King, Jr. (Laureate in
1964) a passionate force against injustice ho helped change the mindset
of a nation.
4· Dalai Lama (Laureate in 1989) - Exiled
to India from his home in Tibet, he embodies hope undiminished by
maintaining his vision of a humane free Tibet.
Night Five - A Meeting of Nations
Light five candles and think about
the rocky road to peace in the Middle
East.
1· Anwar Sadat (Laureate in 1978)
2· Menachem Begin (Laureate in 1978)
3· Yitzchak Rabin
4· Shimon Peres
5· A Mistake! (editor's
note: Jewish Celebrations
formally denounce the award given to Arafat the terrorist. A Murderer who,
for a short while, conned the world.)
Four, rather than five, worked to bridge the gap between Jew and Arab.
Night Six - The End of A Cold War Era
Light six candles and think about those who brought about the blessed
end to the Cold War.
1· Willy Brandt (Laureate in 1971) who
calmed Cold War tensions between West Germany and Eastern Europe.
2· Henry Kissinger
3· Le Duc Tho (Laureates in 1973) whose
negotiations lead to a cease-fire in Vietnam.
4· Alva Myrdal of Sweden
5· Alfonso Garcia Robles of Mexico
(Laureates in 1982) wrestled with the nuclear problem and saw a
possibility for disarmament.
6· Mikhail Gorbachev (Laureate in 1990)
tugged at Iron Curtain's raw edges until it began to unravel.
Night Seven -
Human Rights Above All
Light seven candles and think about those who fought for human rights
around the world.
1· Archbishop Carlos Belos
2· Jose Ramos-Horta (Laureates in 1996).
They sought a peaceful resolution to the strife in East Timor.
3· Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Laureate in 1992)
of Guatemala who brought the rights of indigenous people to the
forefront.
4· Aung San Suu Kyi (Laureate in 1991)
Burma's embattled advocate for human rights.
5· Lech Walesa (Laureate in 1983) Poland's
playwright revolutionary who proved the pen is mightier than the sword.
6· Andrei Sakharov (Laureate in 1975) A
nuclear physicist in the Soviet Union who was a lone voice for human
rights.
7· Albert Lutuli (Laureate in 1960) The
president an early liberation movement in South Africa who worked
against apartheid.
Night Eight - Salute to those Making A Difference
Light eight candles and salute the groups of people who have made a
difference.
1· Pugwash Conference on Science and World
Affairs (Laureate in 1995). They spoke out against the role nuclear
weapons played in shaping international politics.
2· United Nations Peacekeeping forces
(Laureate in 1988) the ground troops of peace sent to cool international
hotspots.
3· International Physicians for Prevention
of Nuclear War (Laureate in 1985)
4· Office of United Nation's High
Commissioner for Refugees (Laureate in 1981 and 1954)
5· Amnesty International (Laureate in
1977) the gadfly group of whistleblowers against injustice.
6· International Labor Organization
(Laureate in 1969)
7· United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF
(Laureate in 1965)
8· International Red Cross (Laureate 1963,
1944, 1917)
Additional
Spiritual Spins:
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Chanukah:
Over 1000 Jewish
