President Gul issue Hanukkah message

President Abdullah Gul honored the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (Festival of Lights) on Tuesday and stated that he welcomes the Jewish holiday with all his sincerity. "All of our citizens, regardless of their faith and ethnicity, have an equal share in our republic and are an inseparable part of the nation," noted Gul in a message released on the Presidency's website, and added that the country's Jewish citizens have lived in harmony and peace with their neighbors for many centuries. Hannukah is a significant religious holiday for Jews around the world. During the holiday, which lasts eight days, Jews commemorate the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem following the Maccabean Revolt of 165 B.C.