Hanukkah in Israel

Hanukkah, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that commemorates the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom. Today marks the eighth day of Hanukkah when the last candle will be lit on the menorah.  Below is a selection of images of Hanukkah in Israel documented by photographers Oded Balilty, Bernat Armangue, Sebastian Scheiner, Dan Balilty, and Tara Todras-Whitehill. 

Mideast Israel Hanukkah

An Ultra Orthodox Jewish walks past lit candles during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011. The Jewish festival of light, an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, started last Tuesday. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

APTOPIX MIDEAST ISRAEL PALESTINIANS HANUKKAH

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man stands in front a menorah on the third eve of Hanukkah, at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site in Jerusalem's old city, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. The Jewish festival of light, is an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, started Friday. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Mideast Israel Palestinians Hanukkah

A Jewish man lights candles on the eve of the last night of Hanukkah, in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010. The Jewish festival of light, an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, started last Wednesday. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

APTOPIX Mideast Israel Palestinians Hanukkah

Laser beams creating the image of a large lit Hanukkah menorah are projected on the Hiriya landfill, a former waste disposal site, now called the Ariel Sharon Park, near Tel Aviv, Israel, on the second eve of Hanukkah, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. The Jewish festival of light, an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, started Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Mideast Israel Hanukkah

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man lights candles during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014. The Jewish festival of light is an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

APTOPIX Mideast Israel Hanukkah

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man lights candles during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014. The Jewish festival of light is an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Mideast Israel

Ultra Orthodox Jewish men sit during a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)

Mideast Israel Hanukkah

Members of the Kraus family, a Jewish ultra-orthodox family, light candles during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood, Monday, Dec. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Mideast Israel Hanukkah

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Yoel Krois holds his son while his family gather around candles at their home, during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014. The Jewish festival of light is an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Mideast Israel Hanukkah

The ultra-Orthodox Jewish Krois family light candles at their home during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014. The Jewish festival of light is an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

MIDEAST ISRAEL PALESTINIANS

An Israeli Jewish settler lights a menorah on the seventh evening of Hanukkah in front of a house that Palestinians were evicted from two weeks ago in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/ Tara Todras-Whitehill)

Mideast Israel Hanukkah

The ultra-Orthodox Jewish Krois family light candles at their home during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014. The Jewish festival of light is an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

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