Ben Hover is a councilman in Lansdowne who has been elected through 2028, which would mark a decade of work on the council for the English teacher and Congregation Rodeph Shalom member. Although lately, he has been working to represent the local Jewish population just as much as he has his constituents.
Following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists, the largely non-Jewish Lansdowne community expressed mixed sentiments towards the events and the area’s Jewish community. As one of a small number of Jewish residents, an elected official and a supporter of Israel’s right to exist, Hover quickly became a target for much of the outrage. People said derogatory things to Hover on the street, at council meetings and all over social media. He said that other area Jews reported similar incidents.
“After some absolutely horrible antisemitic statements were made in a public meeting, it was to the point that I thought maybe I need to move somewhere safer,” he said.
While Lansdowne’s makeup is largely not Jewish, Hover has spent plenty of time in more Jewish areas like Lower Merion or Elkins Park and considered if things wouldn’t be easier there.
“But then, my blood [started to] boil because I thought, ‘No, this is my community,’” he said. “There are people who know what they’re saying is offensive and are doubling down on it. But there are others who are just doing it to be a part of the bandwagon of the moment, and they don’t realize what they’re doing and how troubling it can be.”
So, he decided that something had to be done to teach those who are simply misinformed about their Jewish neighbors. Hover reached out to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, and its leaders agreed. Together, they decided to celebrate Chanukah in Lansdowne in a public way.
Hover and the Federation contacted leaders in the Delaware County Kehillah and a planning committee was formed within a week. That committee met six times to organize a menorah lighting and Chanukah party. Funding was acquired largely through crowdfunding, with many donors expressing excitement at seeing a Chanukah celebration close to their homes.
On Dec. 15, Hover and the Federation put up the menorah in order to coincide with an annual event in Lansdowne that includes Santa and other Christian iconography. Then, on Dec. 19, they held a public Chanukah celebration complete with musical acts, decorations, latkes, sufganiyot, and other Chanukah food, as well as general fun and Jewish joy at a social club in town.
The message is simple: We’re here, too — and we won’t let you forget it.
“One of the first comments we got was from a Jewish person who said, ‘I didn’t realize anybody else was Jewish in this area,’” Hover said. “The lack of visibility is here and I think that part of that is that the voices have been silenced and somewhat erased. A lot of people were just happy to attend a celebration happening here. Usually they have to travel [somewhere else in the area] so this is really the first time that it has happened in Eastern Delaware County.”
Even so, there was blowback for something as benign as celebrating the festival of lights. At a meeting following the events, someone scolded Hover and the city in a public comment because of the event’s ties to the Federation, which has expressed support for Israel.
“Nobody would make that statement about putting up a Christmas tree,” Hover said. “It’s 2025. We should be celebrating other people’s holidays, especially in an area that’s very diverse like the one we live in.”
Hover said that the next steps are to continue to bridge the gap with low-stakes events like the Chanukah party, but also help the community understand the issues that really matter. He said that he and the Federation have been working to plan education outreach efforts about antisemitism and creating a sense of inclusion and safety for all members of the community.
The Federation said in a statement that the event was a “grassroots triumph” that showed achdus, especially considering the efforts to fund the event through crowdfunding. More than 40 people attended and Hover said that Rabbi Nathan Martin of Beth Israel of Media and Rabbi Michal Morris Kamil of Congregation Beth El-Ner Tamid were particularly instrumental.
Lansdowne is just over one square mile, and Hover said that he is firmly committed to making sure that everyone within that square is accepting and loving of each other. From there, he can move on to Philadelphia as a whole. It started this Chanukah, but it won’t end anytime soon.
“This event [showed] the beauty and diversity of the Philadelphia community. We had Ashkenazi Jews, but also Jews from East Asia and North Africa and other places,” Hover said. “It represented Philadelphia well.”
