The surge in anti-Semitism was so alarming that just a week before the attacks, Jewish leaders representing the countries with the largest Jewish populations convened in Australia.
Mass shooting in Australia kills 16 people and injures dozens
At least 16 people were killed and dozens more injured in a targeted shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
- At least 15 people were killed in an anti-Semitic attack at a Hanukkah festival in Australia’s Bondi Beach.
- Jewish leaders from seven countries recently met in Australia to address the alarming spike in anti-Semitic incidents in the country.
- Jewish leaders and organizations are calling on governments around the world to take stronger action against anti-Semitism.
The darkness of anti-Semitism has invaded the festival of lights at a popular Australian beach.
Instead of celebrating Jewish holidays, Jews were massacred.
This is the second time in two months that Jews living on the other side of the world have been targeted and attacked on a major religious holiday.
On October 2, two men were attacked and killed at a synagogue in Manchester, England, during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. On Sunday, December 14, two gunmen opened fire on a crowd of about 1,000 people who had gathered on the vast white sands of Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, for an event marking the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more. Australian authorities have labeled the shooting a terrorist attack.
One of the gunmen was later killed, bringing the death toll to 16.
The attack marks the latest escalation in the rampant anti-Semitism that has plagued leaders of the seven largest Jewish communities since Hamas attacked Israeli Jews on October 7, 2023, during the holiday of Simchat Torah.
Anti-Semitism has been on the rise around the world since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The New York-based Anti-Defamation League reported in January that nearly half of the world’s adult population (an estimated 2.2 billion people) harbor deeply enthralling anti-Semitic attitudes.
“We have seen a tsunami of anti-Semitic hatred here in the United States and around the world over the past two years, and especially since October 7, 2023,” said Marina Rosenberg, senior vice president for international affairs at the Anti-Defamation League.
The rise in hatred against Jews in Australia was so alarming that just a week before the shootings, a group of Jewish leaders representing the United States, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Argentina and Australia convened in Australia. These countries are home to the largest Jewish population in the diaspora, known as the J7.
Mr Rosenberg, who attended the meeting, said: “I decided to travel to Australia because I am very concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism in Australia.”
William Daroff, who attended last week’s rally, was on a flight home when he learned of the shooting. The first news came about 10 hours into the 15-hour flight from Sydney to Houston. Friends began texting to make sure he was okay.
Mr. Daroff, chief executive officer of the Council of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, later learned that a friend who was attending the event had been grazed in the ear by a bullet. Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the event, was among those killed.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, 1,654 incidents targeting the Jewish community have been reported in Australia this year alone. Last year, there were 2,062 people. For comparison, there were only 495 cases reported in 2023 and 478 in 2022.
Joel Burney, executive manager of the Australian Council on Israeli and Jewish Affairs, said in a telephone interview from Melbourne that Australian Jewish leaders had been warning the government for months that a tragedy would occur unless some precautions were taken.
“This event was completely avoidable,” Bernie said of the shooting. “It could have been avoided with tough, strong leadership, but unfortunately there is a clear gap in this country.”
ADL’s Mr Rosenberg said leaders at the J7 meeting wanted members of Australia’s Jewish community to know they are not alone and called for the Australian government to better respond to the rise in anti-Semitic hatred.
Last year, the Australian government appointed a special envoy, Gillian Segal, to look at ways to combat anti-Semitism. Mr Segal published a report in June that made 49 recommendations, but the government has yet to act on them.
“I think this tells you all you need to know about the current government’s position,” Bernie said.
Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that Australia had severed ties with Iran and expelled its diplomats after the country accused it of ordering attacks on a Jewish business in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne.
While in Australia, Daroff and other Jewish leaders were staying about three blocks from Bondi Beach, where the attack occurred. Last weekend, Daroff and others had lunch with Schlanger at the rabbi’s father’s home.
According to him, the shooting incident occurred close to home. That’s because it happened at the beginning of Hanukkah, when Jews light candles to commemorate the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days in the Second Temple. Each night, a candle is added to the menorah, symbolizing the power of light over darkness.
“There will be Hanukkah illuminations all over the world,” Daroff said. “All Jews around the world feel that there could have been one of us in that crowd that attended the[Australian]menorah lighting ceremony and other Jewish events around the world.”
Jews were the targets of more than 9,300 incidents in the United States last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Two high-profile attacks occurred this year. In May, two young Israeli embassy workers were shot to death outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. In Boulder, Colorado, a man armed with a flamethrower and Molotov cocktail attacked a group of Jews participating in a “Run for Our Lives” solidarity walk in response to Israel’s Hamas hostage-taking in June.
On December 13, a resident of Redlands, California, said his family was attacked by a gunman from a car who pointed a gun at their Hanukkah-decorated home. Police are investigating.
Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said there were similarities between the attacks in Britain, Australia and the United States. He said these were things that happened “to the Jewish community at a time when the Jewish community is proudly Jewish.”
“What angers us the most, and should anger everyone in society, is that these are attacks on Jews for being Jewish,” Deutsch added. “In each case, the aim was to attack the Jewish community. No group should be targeted for who they are, and that is what we have endured time and time again.”
Mr Rosenberg said Jews around the world were concerned about their safety following the attacks in Sydney and other cities, and many were wondering whether they wanted to participate in public Hanukkah festivities. Police in the United States and cities around the world are taking more steps to protect Jewish communities at events like this.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Rosenberg said. “But we need to get to a place where Jews don’t need armed protection just to celebrate the holiday.”
No matter what happens, Jews, like other religions and minorities, need to continue celebrating Judaism as much as possible, she said.
“We cannot allow anti-Semitism to define us, and we cannot allow fear to extinguish our light,” Rosenberg said.
Still, like everyone else, she’s taking precautions.
This year, there will be no “Happy Hanukkah” sign outside her house.
Michael Collins writes about the intersection of politics and culture. He is a veteran reporter who has covered the White House and Congress. Follow him on X: @mcollinsNEWS
