Students at IDC Hillel in Israel celebrate Chanukah.

In an effort to raise worldwide awareness of the challenges faced by the residents of Sderot and other Israeli communities under attack near the Gaza border, Hillel Israel will launch a special project during Chanukah called "Light a Candle with Sderot."

On Friday Dec. 7, the fourth night of Chanukah, students and others are asked to light their Chanukah candles in an act of solidarity with the people of Sderot and surrounding communities who have been subjected to 6,000 kassam rocket attacks since April 2001.

"By dedicating one night of Chanukah to light a candle with Sderot, we can show our support, help boost morale, and demonstrate the unity of the Jewish people," said Yossi Goldman, president of Hillel Israel.

As part of Light a Candle with Sderot, the new Hillel center at Sapir College in Sderot, along with Hillel Israel, will be assembling online information packets that include reports about the rocket attacks on Sderot; personal stories about life under the threat of attack; a brief video; and inspirational readings for the fourth night of Chanukah. The kit will be available later this week.

Sderot was originally founded in 1951 as a transit camp for new immigrants from Kurdistan and Iran; since then, Sderot has absorbed immigrants from Morocco and Romania, and more recently from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia.