Seems kind of like lessening the festival by celebtrating it so early. How are they going to deal with lighting the khanukkiah?

Celebrating Chanukah on December 8? The holiday starts on December 20. What are we supposed to think? He's just getting the Jewish holiday out of the way. I would have preferred that he not acknowledge Chanukah at all. And still Obama cannot stop campaigning. Someone needs to remind him that Chanukah essentially celebrates revolution, not just a miracle of sanctified oil lasting eight days. We threw the Seleucid Greeks out of Israel. We're going to throw Obama out of office come November 2012. Wonder if he'll celebrate Chanukah next year. Doubtful.

Always finding something wrong. Classic Jewishness

It had nothing to do with Hannukah and all to do about politiking and looking for Jewish votes.

And when the United States whined after Israel blew up the Osirac reactor in Baghdad, was that classic Americaness? Of course, you'd have had quite a different Gulf War in 1991 had Israel not done that. Can you stop your petulant whining long enough to thank Israel for all the American servicemen and women that did NOT come home in body bags because of Israel's pre-emptive act? Or did we find something "wrong" then, too?

When you are dealing with gentiles, it isn't very difficult.

A couple of years ago (I think), Obama's Hanukkah "celebration" was in broad daylight. It appears Obama has a need to pervert Hanukkah in one way or another. I am ashamed for the Jews who capitulated and attended this freak show.

Happy Early Hanukkah !!!!

Please say this to my face so I can rearrange yours. Very brave of you to be a racist behind your computer. Were you my last boss?

He just gave Iran a US stealth drone RQ-170 Sentinel a stocking stuffer.

''The bigger the lie, the easier people buy it'' said Goebbels. The muslim BHO hates the whites , the jews, the christians : ''on saturday we take the saturday people - on sunday we take the sunday people'' says the muslim.....

Before jumping on the curtains, think about all the times you made jokes about Chritmast and Christians... If you can not respect the others, why do you ask the others to have deference for you.

... what a bunch of angry, dead-enders whose hate seeks to take the joy out of the simplest, happy jestures. Given our long, long histroy of persecution, most American Jews are truly apprecaitive when a US President takes the time to publicly recognize & celebrate a Jewish holiday. Bravo Pres. Obama (as well as recent Presidents before him) for making this effort and God Bless America!

There is not a Jewish value from compassion for the poor to the treatment of strangers that the current Republican field has not trampled on. And then of course we have the spectacle of Israel's shandeh of a FM giving hechsher to a phony russian election moments after Hillary called it for what it was. This current American administration is a friend of Israel just not a friend of Bibi or Yvette the terrible. That American Jewry will continue to vote overwhelmingly Democratic based on their Jewish values of moderation, community and fairness to all is a given that you right wingers lurking in these talkbacks will have to live with.

What Guava! It would have been better to release Pollard than go through this type of stupid fiasco. Obama's staff understand nothing aabout Judaism let alone Israel - our Judges just seem to love to engraciate themselves to the goyim

With picking the 8th of Dezember, Obama only shows his COMPLETE disrespect for the Jewish holiday !

2008, Chanukah started 12/21, Bush lit the chanukiah on 12/15. I am sure you all complained about that, right?

Oh yeah, that was the year he sent the Chanukah ceremony invitation with the Christmas tree on it too. But no big deal, he is Republican, so it is OK.

no matter how much chanukah obama celeberates, he is not a friend of israel because he was brainwashed by moslems and khalidi in his younger years. He feels a kinship tomoslems which is fine, no problem except the history of israel has been distorted. When obma said the principal reason israel was given a homeland in palestine was because of european guilt, he was partly wrong. While there was some guilt, the main reason was to solve the problem recognizing that the jews had historical rights to palestine on both sides of th ejordan, and those national rights were not accorded the arabs living there.Moreover,t he arabs themselves do not know that they are the foreign interlopers, not the jews. They are not modern day canaanites as some have suggested. The canaanites were married and merged into the jews.

...just plain stupid. Neither is a good thing to be IF you are going through the motions of making believe that you have a clue about being the Godamned President of the USA. What a crap Corn Dogs these clowns are. Impeach them just to get the stench out.

How about using a kosher hannukiah? The Shammash should be higher than the rest of the candles. But this was just a show anyhow for the self-annointed one to try to drum up support.

Speak for yourself. Most American Jews are profoundly insulted, which is why so many prominent Jews who were invited declined to participate. Ambassador Oren attended, as did Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg (the other two Jewish Supreme Court justices chose not to attend). Prominent Jews in the United States Congress opted out of attending, as well. By the way, it's spelled "gestures." If you live in the United States, you should learn English.

given that you don't know any of us. Is that your opinion of Jews - that we have nothing better to do than insult and degrade Christians? You are not very bright and have a lot to learn, and I resent your sterotyping us in such a negative fashion. Furthermore, Obama is not a Christian. He is a Muslim pretending to be a Christian pretending to be a Jew for a few hours. And you have the stones to accuse us of being messed up?

You complain about petulant whining when all your posts are an exercise in exactly that. All your posts either refer to Jewish superiority, how you could wipe almost any nation off the map with your nukes and how grateful the world should be for Jewish existence.