Chocolate coins, menorah on Downing St.
Crème de la crème of UK Jewish community attend David Cameron's Hanukkah party, except for prime minister himself who's busy with Britain's 2018 World cup bid
The rare event occurred during a special candle lighting ceremony at 10 Downing Street, the British prime minister's official residence, in honor of the first night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Osborne's gold was in fact the chocolate version – chocolate coins given out as the traditional Hanukkah "gelt" (a small present) to the children's choir who sang "Maoz Tzur", but it seemed that the light interlude along with the hot potato pancakes – 'latkes', brought the color back to his cheeks.
Anybody who is anybody in the Britain's Jewish community joined the celebrations on Wednesday. Osborne was very careful to perform all the Jewish traditions; from singing "Maoz Tzur" from a songbook given out to guests, to eating a jelly doughnut and potato pancake. "The Hanukkah holiday lights up the kingdom with precious light," he noted.
Britain's Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks lit the candle for the first night of Hanukkah together with some lords, knights, Israel's Ambassador to Britain and a few Jewish baronesses who were invited to the ceremony. A children's choir from one of the local schools sang Hanukkah songs with enthusiasm.
The event was held in the residence's beautiful first floor reception hall. A staircase with pictures of previous prime ministers led the way in, so that those invited got to view a piece of history on their way to the party.
British Prime Minister David Cameron released a special message for the holiday on Wednesday, saying "I want to pass on my very best wishes to the Jewish community here and around the world for a happy and peaceful Hanukkah.
"The story of Hanukkah continues to be an inspiring message of the power of hope to sustain people through the toughest of times, and the strength that we can find when we come together and focus on building a brighter future. I wish you and your families a Hanukkah Sameach.”
Sadly, the prime minister could not attend the event on Wednesday as he is leading Britain's World cup 2018 delegation in Switzerland where a decision on who will host the 2018 World Cup is set to be made on Thursday. In Britain, nothing is ever more important than football.
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