The campaign was done in coordination with the center, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Bitula Monstir Community Heritage Association.
Held as an event, the lighting of the candles was done by the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball administration headed by Shimon Mizrahi, along with Tal Brody, Israeli Ambassador to North Macedonia Dan Orin and Robert Singer, head of the Jewish Impact Center, as well as Matti Greenberg, known as The "last Jewish baby" born in North Macedonia.
The focus of the event was on the importance of inclusion and support for groups in society, and the history of Macedonian Jewry, which was almost completely destroyed during the Holocaust.
"I am very excited about this event," Mizrahi said. "In Israel, everyone knows what happened in the Holocaust but there is not enough awareness of what happened in North Macedonia – and therefore there is great importance to such an event, which can bring the story of Macedonian Jews to global consciousness.
"It is clear that Maccabi and Zionism have always gone and will always go together, and the name Maccabi comes from this source. All of it is connected, and I am proud that we have a connection to commemorate the Jews of North Macedonia together with the Jewish Impact Center and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Mizrahi added.
Israel's Ambassador to North Macedonia also noted the importance of the event, saying that "The entire Jewish community of Northern Macedonia was destroyed, and we march in her memory every year as part of the March of Life. Due to the corona's limitations, we had to cancel the parade and looked for another way to illuminate their memory."
"There is one Jew left, and there is no one left to tell the story," Orin said. "Since it was impossible to march this year, we decided to commemorate their memory with Hanukkah candles – and we are happy about the partnership with the Center for Jewish Impact and with Maccabi Tel Aviv in basketball in doing so."