Hanukkah and the Second Amendment Gun Control is Un-Jewish  http://www.stentorian.com/2ndamend/leaflets/hanukkah.html, downloadable royalty-free leaflet. The author is a Jewish American; the American Jewish Congress and Union of American Hebrew Congregations do not speak for him on gun control.

Modern Jewish organizations are doing this: A Jewish Community Center put on a Hanukkah play. As the actors who portrayed the Jewish and Macedonian (Greek) soldiers were about to fight, the script called for a little girl to run onto the stage, separate them, and proclaim, "No fighting in the Jewish Community Center!" Perhaps this JCC's next play will have a child separate the British and American forces at Bunker Hill to reinforce the sickening idea that freedom is free.

This is how it really happened: Alexander the Great was fairly tolerant of local religions but his heirs weren't. Antiochus wanted to force the Jews to worship the Greek gods. A mother and her seven sons refused and were put to death; according to Geoffrey Abbott's The Book of Execution, all were tortured and then burned or fried alive. This detail might be left out of a play for children, but don't throw out the underlying lesson: freedom isn't free.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie of the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Union of American Hebrew Congregations (http://www.uahc.org/yoffie/mmm.html) said the following at the Million Mom March in May 2000. "The indiscriminate distribution of guns is an offense against God and humanity." "Controlling guns is not only a political matter, it is a solemn religious obligation. Our gun-flooded society has turned weapons into idols, and the worship of idols must be recognized for what it is-blasphemy. And the only appropriate religious response to blasphemy is sustained moral outrage." The 501(c)(3) tax-exempt American Jewish Congress also is running an anti-gun crusade at http://ajcongress.org/ptchoice.htm.

Judah and the Maccabees ("Hammers") took exception to religious persecution, and they led a revolution against the Greeks. During one of the battles, a Macedonian war elephant was wreaking havoc in the Jewish ranks. Judah's son Eleazer rode under the elephant and stabbed it. He didn't get clear in time; the stricken animal fell on him and crushed him. Freedom isn't free. Were the Maccabees idolators because they used swords (the contemporary equivalent of guns)? The Maccabees used those swords, and many lost their lives, so that thousands of years later we can practice Judaism instead of worshipping idols (as the Greeks demanded) or following some other state religion.

After the Jews won their revolution, they purified their Temple and re-lit its eternal lamp, which had only enough oil for one day.  God made the oil burn for eight days (until more oil could be delivered), which is why a Menorah has eight candles. Freedom wasn't free, God didn't do the Jews' work for them. He didn't smite the Macedonians or make the Jews sword-proof, He rewarded the Jews for defending their faith by making the oil last for eight days.
Two thousand or so years later, some people known as Minutemen used privately-owned firearms in the American War of Independence. Some endured hardships at places like Valley Forge, and others lost their lives, to create a country with freedom of religion. Many Jews emigrated from Europe and other places and came to America so they could practice Judaism. This lesson also appears lost on UAHC, AJC, and other organizations that now seem to think that freedom is free.
In 1943, Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto revolted against their Nazi oppressors. "The first armed resistance occurred when a 17- year-old girl named Emily Landau flung a grenade into a cluster of SS men from a rooftop on Gesia Street, killing or wounding a dozen of them. The SS promptly assaulted the building with submachine guns blazing, only to be met by a volley of return fire that felled four or five Germans and drove the rest back in disorder. Emily Landau was bending down to recover a pistol from a slain SS officer when she was struck by a bullet fired by a German rifleman covering his comrades’ retreat. The first to fight, she was also the first to die" (Jon Guttmann, "Genocide Delayed"). This Jewish heroine (or was she an idolatress, Mr. Yoffie?) lost her life while trying to capture a precious firearm with which to protect Jewish lives.
In 1947, Jews founded the Nation of Israel in the face of immense hardships (e.g. as portrayed in the movie Exodus). Its Arab neighbors invaded and the Jews fought back desperately with whatever firearms they could buy, beg, borrow, or steal. That is why there is a State of Israel today. Were those Jews idolators, Mr. Yoffie? You (and I) never had to pay the real price of freedom but we can at least learn from those who have.
American Jews: Don't support AJC or UAHC until they stop using your money for left-wing politics. Try Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (www.jpfo.org). (You don't have to be Jewish to join. This leaflet is not sponsored or authorized by JPFO.)