On Wednesday night, the Crown Heights community gathered at the corner of Rutland Road and East 49th Street, outside Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, for a public Chanukah menorah lighting and rally in support of reopening the Kingsbrook Shul.

The event, titled “A Century of Light,” highlighted a century of Jewish history connected to Kingsbrook and marked 75 years since the synagogue building was built. Kingsbrook’s Jewish roots trace back to a time when Jewish patients and families often faced discrimination and unequal treatment elsewhere, and the hospital was built to address that need.

In recent years, access to the synagogue has been blocked, with the closure dating back to the Covid period and continuing afterward. The shul has recently filed a lawsuit seeking to reopen. A similar outdoor lighting was held last year as well, when the kehilla gathered outside after being denied entry, in what was described as a “Maccabean Revolt” outside the Kingsbrook complex.

Despite the circumstances, the gathering carried the spirit of Chanukah. Men, women, and children came to strengthen one another, daven, and light the menorah together on the fourth night. The program included music, along with latkes and donuts.

The menorah was lit by a bochur who was recently attacked on the New York City subway while returning with friends from Chanukah mivtzoim, an antisemitic subway assault that drew wide attention this week.

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