Thousands of synagogues in Israel and across the globe on Tuesday night will keep their lights on to commemorate the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, a pogrom that targeted Jews in a series of horrific attacks throughout Germany and Austria on the night of November 9, 1938.
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During the pogrom, synagogues were heavily damaged and thousands of Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed. At least 400 Jews were murdered.
To commemorate Kristallnacht, International March of the Living, a Holocaust education program, launched an initiative known as Let There Be Light.
The movement encourages people and places of worship to leave their lights on during the night of November 9 to show solidarity with victims of hate.
"Over the last year we have witnessed a frightening rise of global antisemitic rhetoric and events," International March of the Living President Phyllis Greenberg Heideman explained on the movement's website.
"As the torchbearer of memory, the March of the Living's mission is to remind the world what happens when antisemitism is left unchecked," she said.
"The 'Let There Be Light' initiative unites the world, if even for a single moment, against antisemitism, hatred, and racism in all its forms. Our educational mission is today more necessary than ever," said Greenberg Heideman.
Last year, former president Reuven Rivlin held an event marking the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht at the presidential residence, with Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen in attendance.
The president's synagogue was illuminated to commemorate the occasion.
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