With heavy hearts, Jews in Israel lit the year’s first Hanukkah candles, mourning after gunmen opened fire on a Jewish gathering in Australia, killing 15 and reviving painful memories of the October 7, 2023 attack.
Sunday’s attack in Bondi Beach was Australia’s worst mass shooting in decades, and has been decried as antisemitic “terrorism” by Israeli authorities and many others around the world.
“It was awful and so reminiscent of October 7. For many people here, it’s very traumatic,” Bill Fogel, 69, told AFP in Jerusalem, referring to Hamas’s deadly 2023 cross-border attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 on the Israeli side.
The Israeli-American said he had lit the first Hanukkah candle on Sunday with friends from Sydney’s Jewish community and followers of a rabbi killed in the shooting.
“Being Jewish means constantly being vigilant,” Fogel told AFP at a popular Jerusalem bakery where customers rushed to place orders for Hanukkah.
Next to Fogel stood Ayelet, 37, who said “the light of the holiday has been somewhat dimmed”.
“Our hearts are with the people of Sydney. But I think that just as we grew stronger from October 7, we will also grow stronger from events like this,” she told AFP. “Most of all, we will continue to celebrate as much as possible.”
Hours after the shooting, a candlelight vigil was held on a beach in the city of Tel Aviv where mourners lit candles arranged to look like the Star of David.
– ‘Tough time for community’ –
In Tel Aviv, the vigil’s attendees carried Israeli and Australian flags.
“This is a very tough time for our community. We have lost a rabbi, we have lost friends, we’ve lost children,” Nir Golan, an Australian Jew, told the vigil.
“Out of darkness comes light, so let’s all pray for peace and strength and healing for the community in Sydney,” Golan said, overcome with emotion.
The Sydney shooting has also sparked strong emotions in the Israeli media.
“Hanukkah massacre” wrote one of Israel’s best-selling dailies, Yediot Aharonot, which devoted six pages to covering the attack.
“The light of Hanukkah has gone out,” wrote another daily, Israel Hayom.
In an editorial for Yediot Aharonot, journalist and commentator Nadav Eyal urged Israel to reach out to the Australian Jewish community.
“For two years, they put their lives on hold to help Israelis in need,” Eyal wrote. “Now it’s our turn to ask ourselves: what can we do for them?”
– Warning to Israeli travellers –
In response to the attack, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced stricter security measures for Israeli travellers.
“It is strongly recommended to avoid attending unsecured mass gatherings, including events at synagogues,” the office said in a statement.
But despite the fears of rising antisemitism, many in Israel remained defiant.
In west Jerusalem’s Zion Square where street singers charmed passers-by and young people handed out doughnuts, 29-year-old Elinor Chaim refused “to be sucked into sadness”.
“We must not let darkness prevail over light. That’s the meaning of Hanukkah,” she said.
