Australia’s Hanukkah Horror: Devastating Mass Shooting Sparks International Calls for Heightened Security at Jewish Events
- Fifteen people died in a targeted attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney’s Bondi Beach, prompting Jewish groups to urge increased security measures at public events.
- Leading Jewish organizations in the US are calling for restrictions on access to events, including preregistration and screening of attendees, to prevent another tragedy.
- Rabbis and Jewish leaders around the world are vowing to proceed with large-scale Hanukkah celebrations, despite the threat of violence, to demonstrate resilience and defiance in the face of antisemitism.
In the wake of the devastating mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Jewish groups worldwide are urging heightened security measures to prevent another tragedy. The attack, which left at least 15 people dead, has sparked international calls for increased vigilance and precautions at Jewish events.
Leading Jewish organizations in the US, including three specializing in security issues, are advising Jewish organizations to implement strict security protocols, including preregistration and screening of attendees, to ensure the safety of those attending public events.
“Provide details of location, time, and other information only upon confirmed registration,” the groups’ advisory warns. “Have access control (locks and entrance procedures) to only allow known, confirmed registrants/attendees into the facility/event.”
Despite the threat of violence, many rabbis and Jewish leaders are vowing to proceed with large-scale Hanukkah celebrations, determined to demonstrate resilience and defiance in the face of antisemitism. “This week, let us choose Jewish joy, communal strength, and courageous hope,” said a message posted by Temple Beth Sholom, one of the largest synagogues in the Miami area.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Congregation, a survivor of the 2018 attack by an antisemitic gunman that killed 11 worshippers, echoed the sentiment. “Hanukkah is supposed to be a time of light, celebrating the resilience of our people,” he said. “In the face of antisemitism and violence, my prayer is that we don’t let the fear win but instead lean into our Jewishness and practice our tradition proudly.”
The attack has reignited criticism that Australian authorities are not doing enough to combat a surge in antisemitic crimes. Australian leaders have promised to overhaul already-tough gun control laws in response to the targeted attack.
Among those killed was Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and an organizer of the Hanukkah event. Just a year earlier, Schlanger had urged his fellow Jews to be uncowed in the face of rising antisemitism, saying, “Be more Jewish, act more Jewish and appear more Jewish.”
Rabbi Chaim Landa with Chabad of Greater St. Louis believes that proceeding with public menorah lightings and community Hanukkah celebrations is what Schlanger would have wanted. “There’s a couple pieces to this. There’s making sure that it’s safe, and there’s also making sure that people feel safe. And we want both,” Landa said.
In a speech delivered after the Australia attack, Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judaism elaborated on the mix of dismay and determination being experienced through the Jewish community. “We are thinking about security and how to live openly and safely as Jews — asking questions that are newer to us but would have been all too familiar to generations of our ancestors.”
As Jewish communities around the world grapple with the reality of increased security measures, Rabbi Alon Shalev, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, argues that Jews should be bolder in boosting their public profile. “When Jews are attacked for being visibly Jewish, the instinct to retreat is understandable — but it is precisely the wrong response,” he said.
For many, the attack serves as a stark reminder of the Jewish community’s longstanding reality of having to factor security into religious practice. As Jewish leaders vow to stand strong in the face of antisemitism, the question remains: how can they balance the need for security with the desire to celebrate their faith and culture openly and proudly?