Jewish communities around the world are reeling after a deadly terror attack at a public Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, where gunmen opened fire Sunday evening, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens in what Australian authorities have called an antisemitic act of terrorism.
The shooting occurred during “Chanukah by the Sea,” a festive summer event marking the first night of Hanukkah and attended by roughly 1,000 people. Two gunmen, identified as a 50-year-old man and his 24-year-old son, opened fire from a footbridge overlooking a park near the beach. The elder suspect was shot and killed by police, and his son was hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities are investigating possible extremist motives and reviewing how the attackers obtained firearms.
Among those killed were Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary who helped organize the event, and Reuven Morrison, both deeply embedded in the Jewish community.
The attack resonated deeply on Long Island, including in Merrick, where Rabbi Shimon Kramer, executive director of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, reflected on the tragedy as both a communal and personal wound. Kramer previously lived in Australia and said the violence revived painful memories of past terror attacks he has experienced firsthand.
“Anytime there’s a terrorist attack, it’s personal,” Kramer said. “As a rabbi — and especially as a Chabad rabbi — we look to promote peace and help people. When someone tries to bring destruction and fear into the world, it’s always disturbing.”
Kramer said the shooting evoked memories of the 1994 Brooklyn Bridge shooting, when he was inside a van that was fired upon in a terrorist attack that killed his wife’s cousin.
“And again, it’s personal because a colleague of ours — another Chabad emissary — was doing a menorah lighting,” he said. “The idea of lighting a menorah is to bring light into the world. To gun people down while they’re celebrating freedom of religion and spreading light — it’s horrifying.”
Despite the tragedy, Kramer emphasized the importance of continuing public Hanukkah celebrations, including menorah lightings in Merrick and Bellmore, as acts of resilience rather than retreat.
“We had to ask ourselves: are we going to allow the darkness to win, or are we going to bring more light?” he said. “We decided no — we’re not going to allow fear to take over.”
In Bellmore, Rabbi Rishe Groner of Congregation Beth Ohr echoed that message while urging his congregation to continue celebrating Hanukkah.
“It’s impossible to encapsulate the immensity of the grief, shock and devastation in our global Jewish community right now,” Groner wrote in a statement. “While my own family in Melbourne and Sydney are physically safe, our close-knit Chabad community in Australia is completely ruptured… Two bright souls, righteous dedicated community leaders, taken abruptly by the darkest forces at a moment of spreading light.”
In Merrick, Kramer said the community is channeling its grief into action. The Chabad Center for Jewish Life has established the Bondi Lighting Memorial Scholarship Fund to support Jewish education programs, including preschool, Hebrew school and summer camp, in memory of the victims.
“When there’s darkness around us, you don’t push it away with a broomstick,” Kramer said. “The only way to push away darkness is by lighting a candle. If every single person brings a little bit of light, the whole world becomes brighter.”
