Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised to keep close ties with Israel on Monday as he helped light a menorah in his home riding of Calgary to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

"Under my government, our country will remain a resolute defender of the Jewish faith, of Jewish religious freedom, and our country will remain a staunch ally of the state of Israel," he told a standing room-only crowd gathered at City Hall.

Harper also reflected on the deaths of a rabbi and his wife who were killed in last month's terror attacks in Mumbai, calling their deaths a lesson that evil is still very much alive in the world.

But he said the fact a new rabbi came to the region soon after shows that the Jewish community will never bow to hate and violence, and said it's Canada's job to help end oppression and intolerance around the world.

Rabbis from across the country took part in the ceremony, some flying in for only a few hours to help light the candles with the prime minister.

Harper also recalled visiting a museum set up at the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp last spring in Poland.

"Like all who went there, I was moved beyond words by what I saw – to revulsion, to anger, and most of all to a deep, aching sadness for the millions of innocents who perished there."

On the long plane ride home to Canada, he also felt hope, he said, reflecting on the fact that people left the horrors of the Holocaust behind "to build the thriving, modern democratic state of Israel."

"And also hope because today, most people in most civilized countries, recognize anti-Semitism for what it is: a pernicious evil that must be exposed, confronted and repudiated whenever and wherever it appears."

The event marked the 20th anniversary of the city's community menorah, said Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier.