Polish, Jewish leaders light 1st menorah in Poland's parliament for Hanukkah

Officials lit a menorah in the Polish parliament's lower house on Monday in celebration of Hanukkah, in what was believed to be a first for the parliament building.

Rabbi Shalom Stambler and Deputy Parliament Speaker Jaroslaw Kalinowski jointly lit a candle, which was then used to light seven candles on a pre-World War II menorah decorated with the crowned eagle _ a symbol of the Polish state.

The lighting "symbolizes freedom and independence that should be spread across Poland and across the world," said Stambler, of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. "I am very happy and very grateful for being able to light this first ever Hanukkah light at the parliament building in history."

There was also a separate menorah lighting ceremony at the presidential palace, for the second consecutive year.

Before the war, Poland was home to a Jewish community of nearly 3.5 million, but around 90 percent died during the war under the Nazi occupation. The Jewish population is estimated at around 30,000 today.

While Poland has been accused of widespread anti-Semitism in the postwar era, recent governments have been making a point of reversing the image.

Hanukkah, an eight day celebration that began Dec. 4, commemorates religious freedom and the successful fight against oppression. It also celebrates how a one-day supply of oil, which the Jews found when recapturing the Temple in Jerusalem from Syrian-Greek occupiers, miraculously lasted for eight days.