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WASHINGTON — This afternoon, Speaker Johnson, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries hosted the third annual Capitol Menorah Lighting Ceremony to commemorate upcoming the eight-day festival of Hanukkah. Reps. Craig Goldman and Randy Fine and Rabbi Levi Shemtov joined Congressional leaders at the ceremony.

Watch Speaker Johnson’s full remarks here.

Below are Speaker Johnson’s remarks as delivered:

This is a special time of year, and we like to do this. We enjoy this because we gather here in the People's House to celebrate our fellow Americans of all faiths. And this is an important one.

The Festival of Hanukkah, at its heart, is a celebration of course, of courage of the Jewish people's steadfast defense of their faith over centuries of persecution. And we don't ever forget that.

It was more than 2,000 years ago in the ancient land of Israel; the Jewish people were denied the most basic freedom to pray and to express their faith in the holiest of places. And it was then that a fearless patriot, known as Judah Maccabee, led a small band of brothers to reclaim the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

When the temple was restored, the menorah’s oil that should have lasted only one day, burned instead for eight miraculous days. I'm telling you this story as if Rabbi Shemtov didn't cover it already, but for those who are tuning in late, this is the history.

It's during Hanukkah that the Jewish people celebrate and commemorate this miracle by lighting the menorah each year. Today, that same light will shine here in the People's House. And that's what is important. It shines as a symbol of the resilience and the perseverance, the eternal hope of the Jewish people.

I don't know if it was explained the significance of this particular menorah. Well, it was a gift to us, and it is made of the steel that came off of the bombs that were shot down over Israel, the missiles that the Iron Dome was taken down. So, it's particularly meaningful and a poignant reminder of just what we're talking about, the perseverance of the Jewish people over all these years.

And as we light the menorah, we're grateful for the many freedoms we enjoy as Americans, and among them, the freedom to worship freely and without fear of persecution and injustice.

Yesterday, I entertained Speaker Ohana, my counterpart of the Israeli Knesset. He was in town, as many of you know, some of y'all met with him. He's become a good friend and a colleague. And he was here because we jointly signed a letter to nominate our president, President Trump, for the next Nobel Peace Prize in 2026.

And it was Speaker Ohana’s idea, because he thought that this was an appropriate thing, having settled now eight conflicts and bloody wars conflicts around the world, that he and I would be co-signatories on this and that we would ask all of our colleagues, the other speakers and presidents of the great parliaments around the world to join us in that.

So, it'd be a joint nomination of the President of the United States for the Nobel Peace Prize. I think it's very appropriate. I thanked him for that. We had a joint signing ceremony. But we exchanged gifts. And he gave to me a ninth-century clay pot. It was actually for oil. Priceless. I didn't want to touch it. I said, everybody can stand away from that. It came from, I think the First Temple is what he told me, and it's an incredible piece of history as a gift.

And what I gave to him in exchange, was a copy of the father of our country's letter to the Hebrew Congregation that he wrote in 1790. The Jewish leaders there had had written to him, and they had concern about their protection in the United States in this new country of ours. And they asked the president of our country, would their religious freedom be respected?

And the president of our country, the father of our country, George Washington, said in his own hand, his own words, he said this is a natural right, that you are given this right by God, not by government, and the United States will jealously protect that. The right of every single person to have the religious liberty, the first freedom we call it, to worship and to live as you please.

And that's has always been a part of our tradition. And we recognize that here. This cherished tradition is an ideal articulated in our earliest days as a young nation. And that's what comes to mind when we do these things together.

I just want to say that we take heart in knowing that even in the face of generations of bigotry, bondage, persecution, and exile, the Jewish people have endured, and they have flourished. And that at its very essence is what we celebrate today.

That the light of faith and love and courage and conviction will always guide us on the path to brighter days ahead. We're so very grateful to everybody here for joining us to celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah. May your candles burn bright this season, and may God bless you all. Thank you.