SYDNEY (VINnews) — In the wake of the deadly terrorist attack that claimed 15 Jewish lives at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, a Sydney rabbi emphasized resilience and faith, declaring that the community will respond by increasing light rather than succumbing to darkness.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
“We’re not canceling Hanukkah. We’re adding light,” Rabbi Nochum Schapiro of North Shore Chabad told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News.
The attack occurred Sunday during the annual “Chanukah by the Sea” event organized by Chabad of Bondi, where hundreds had gathered to mark the first night of the holiday. Two gunmen opened fire on the crowd, killing 15 people — including two rabbis — and injuring dozens in what Australian authorities have described as a targeted antisemitic terrorist incident.
Among the victims were Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the event, and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, a coordinator deeply involved in Chabad operations in Sydney.
Speaking amid the grief, Rabbi Schapiro urged Jews worldwide to honor the fallen by kindling additional Hanukkah candles.
“Light for Rabbi Eli. Light for Rabbi Yaakov. Light for the others we lost,” he said, also calling for prayers for the wounded.
Rabbi Schapiro’s message echoes the Hanukkah theme of triumph over oppression, as the Jewish community mourns while vowing to amplify acts of faith and goodness in response to the tragedy.
All respect for the Rabbi, but there is an Halacha that when it’s a סכנה you place the Menorah on a table inside the house and not at a public beach, or on cars or at parks