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Swords of Iron: sources IIIIIIII (view source)
Revision as of 23:51, December 14, 2025
, 23:51, December 14, 2025→Notes part I: Nov-27, 2025+
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Gunmen kill 15, wound 42 in terror attack at Sydney Chanukah event.
"This was a treacherous act of terror—an attack on community, on goodness and on light itself," the Chabad Lubavitch movement said.
Akiva Van Koningsveld.
(Dec. 14, 2025 | Updated Dec. 14, 15:55 / JNS)
At least 15 people were killed and 42 injured were hospitalized in a terror attack that targeted a Chanukah party on Bondi Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Sunday, according to Australian authorities and local media reports on Sunday morning local time.
Those who were killed were between the ages of 10 and 87, according to the Australian public broadcaster ABC, which cited Chris Minns, premier of New South Wales.
The shooters are believed to be a father and son, according to ABC, which reported that the alleged terrorist Naveed Akram, 24, is under police guard in the hospital, and police shot and killed his father, 50, on Sunday.
The commissioner of the New South Wales police said that officers found “two ‘basic’ explosive devices” at the shooter’s home on Sunday night and that the “explosives had not been activated,” according to ABC.
When a reporter asked the New South Wales premier about reports that police froze rather than returning fire, Minns said that “I’m not going to go into the circumstances of police officers that returned fire, but I can tell you their bravery, their courage in these circumstances saved countless lives and I would urge everyone not to jump to conclusions,” ABC reported.
The attack took place at a Chanukah celebration attended by hundreds of people and organized by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister of diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism, said that he was in “continuous contact” with Australian Jewish leaders.
Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters stated that it is “devastated and heartbroken by the barbaric terror attack against a public Chanukah celebration in Sydney, Australia, on the first night of Chanukah.”
“We grieve for the families whose loved ones were murdered, among them Chabad emissary Rabbi Elie Schlanger, who led the Chanukah celebration with the people of Bondi Beach,” it said. “Rabbi Schlanger devoted his life to sharing Jewish warmth, faith and community with others. He was doing exactly what he had been sent to do—bringing light and joy into the public square—when his life was cut down.”
It added that the rabbi “leaves his wife, Chayale, and their children, including a 2-month-old baby” and that “we mourn him as family and stand with his loved ones and his community in their immeasurable loss.”
“This was a treacherous act of terror—an attack on community, on goodness and on light itself,” the movement said. “It reflects a climate in which Jew-hatred has been allowed to grow and to turn violent. That reality must be confronted.”
Australian Prime Minister Antony Albanese told a press conference following the attack that “this afternoon, there has been a devastating terrorist incident at Bondi at the Chanukah by the Sea celebration.”
“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Chanukah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” the premier said.
“An act of evil antisemitism, terrorism, that has struck the heart of our nation,” he added. “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.”
Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told Sydney radio station 2GB that the group’s director of media was injured in the attack, which he called “deliberate and very targeted.
“Hundreds of people were gathered. It’s a family event,” he said. “They heard, like, dozens of popping sounds, and people just started running, running over barricades, grabbing their children. It was mayhem.”
New South Wales state opposition leader Kellie Sloane, who was at the beach, told Sky News that the shooting a “horrific attack on our way of life, a very targeted attack on our Jewish community.”
“I was there when the shooting was still happening, and there was so many people,” he told the outlet. “We were trying to we were trying to support people. We were trying to save people.”
Four months ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Albanese to confront what he called a “tsunami of antisemitism” that had spread in Australia since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Netanyahu also slammed the decision by his Australian counterpart to recognize a Palestinian state while the Jewish state was still fighting “a war on behalf of Western civilization” as a “sign of weakness.”
[https://www.jns.org/police-responding-to-reported-shooting-at-sydneys-bondi-beach/ JNS]
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World leaders react to deadly Chanukah attack in Sydney.
Israel accuses Australia of letting Jew-hatred fester, some leaders offer condolences without naming antisemitism.
Canaan Lidor.
(Dec. 14, 2025 / JNS)
World leaders and diplomats offered varied reactions to Sunday’s terrorist attack against Jews in Sydney, ranging from offering general condolences, to accusing the Australian government of allowing antisemitic hatred to fester, as alleged by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
Following the attack by at least two shooters on participants in a Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach, in which 11 people were murdered, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that “the United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Australia targeting a Jewish celebration.”
Antisemitism, he continued, “has no place in this world. Our prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the people of Australia.”
Sa’ar wrote on X: “These are the results of the antisemitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the antisemitic and inciting calls of ‘Globalize the Intifada’ that were realized today. The Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses!”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee endorsed Sa’ar’s remarks, writing on X: “Horrific attack in Australia. Gideon Saar and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs [have] it right.”
Sa’ar also criticized Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s initial reaction to the attack, parts of which were seen in videos posted online. “Words you will not find in the PM statement: Jews. Antisemitism. Terror,” Sa’ar wrote.
Later on Sunday, Albanese gave a live statement to reporters in which he spoke about “a devastating terrorist incident at Bondi at the Hanukkah by the Sea celebration. This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith, [was] an act of evil antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation,” Albanese said.
Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister for Diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism, reposted criticism to the same effect. Albanese, the leader of the Australian Labor Party and a critic of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, had written initially: “The scenes in Bondi are shocking and distressing. Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives. My thoughts are with every person affected.” He added details about his office’s liaison with the police.
Sa’ar also criticized Starmer’s laconic reaction to the massacre, who had written: “Deeply distressing news from Australia. The United Kingdom sends our thoughts and condolences to everyone affected by the appalling attack in Bondi Beach. I’m being kept updated on the developing situation.” Sa’ar replied: “Distinguished PM, the terror attack targeted Jews.”
Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, wrote in a statement: “Absolutely horrified to see the images emerging of the appalling attack on so many people on Bondi Beach as Hannukkah celebrations began in Sydney. All my thoughts are with the victims and the wider Jewish community in Australia and beyond. This light will not be extinguished.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon published a statement similar to that of his Australian counterpart, writing, “I am shocked by the distressing scenes at Bondi, a place that Kiwis visit every day. My thoughts, and the thoughts of all New Zealanders, are with those affected.”
He mentioned how New Zealanders and Australians are “family,” but did not mention Jews.
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott wrote on X: “The events at Bondi Beach are an absolute atrocity. A horror for the victims and a massive escalation of the hatred directed at Australia’s Jewish community. There should be no place in Australia for the kind of evil we’ve seen this evening.”
French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged in a statement about the attack that it was “an antisemitic terrorist attack” at a Chanukah celebration. “France extends its thoughts to the victims, the injured and their loved ones. We share the pain of the Australian people and will continue to fight relentlessly against antisemitic hatred, which hurts us all, wherever it strikes,” he wrote.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote that he “strongly condemns the ghastly terrorist attack” on “people celebrating the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.”
On behalf of the people of India, Modi added, “I extend my sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. We stand in solidarity with the people of Australia in this hour of grief. India has zero tolerance towards terrorism and supports the fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism.”
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said he was “shocked and appalled by the gun attack targeting Sydney’s Jewish community.” Antisemitism, he added, “has been one of the most consistent and pernicious prejudices throughout history, providing the foundation for murderous outrages in many eras and many places.”
Alan Shatter, a former justice minister of Ireland, who is Jewish, accused the Irish government under Martin of fueling the kind of hate that led to the Bondi Beach attack.
“Like the Australian government, the Irish government’s unbalanced toxic rhetoric and conduct relating to the Israel/Gaza war has contributed to escalating antisemitism in Ireland,” Shatter wrote in a statement. Ireland has accused Israel of perpetrating genocide in Gaza.
The Foreign Ministry of Qatar’s statement also did not mention that it was directed at Jews, expressing “condemnation and denunciation” of the attack that “took place on Bondi Beach near Sydney, Australia, which “resulted in deaths and injuries.”
Qatar has a “firm stance against violence, terrorism and criminal acts, regardless of the motives or reasons,” and its foreign ministry conveyed “condolences to the families of the victims” and wishes “for a speedy recovery for the injured,” the statement read.
António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, whom Israel has accused of “antisemitic behavior” following his support for singling out Israel for condemnation, while failing to condemn attacks against it, wrote: “I am horrified and condemn today’s heinous, deadly attack on Jewish families gathered in Sydney to celebrate Hannukah.”
Guterres added: “My heart is with the Jewish community worldwide on this first day of Hannukah, a festival celebrating the miracle of peace and light vanquishing darkness.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz tweeted on Sunday morning that Chanukah menorahs, “which are lit in homes and on squares, are a sign of hope and confidence. Let us let their light shine together.”
He did not mention the attack in that post, but followed up with a statement saying that “the antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach during Hanukkah leaves me speechless. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. This is an attack on our shared values. We must put a stop to this antisemitism—here in Germany and worldwide.”
[https://www.jns.org/world-leaders-react-to-deadly-chanukah-attack-in-sydney/ JNS]
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Witnesses describe ‘absolute bloodbath’ in Bondi Hanukkah attack.
"I saw blood gushing from me. I saw people hit, saw people fall to the ground," said Ostrovsky, “My only concern was, where are my kids? Where are my kids? Where’s my wife, where’s my family?”
(Arsen Ostrovsky, an Australian-Israeli activist, was injured in the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack on Dec. 14, 2025, in Sydney).
By Philissa Cramer/JTA.December 14, 2025.
Arsen Ostrovsky moved back to Australia from Israel two weeks ago to helm the Sydney office of AIJAC, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council.
On Sunday, he was one of scores of people shot during an attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. At least 11 people were killed, as well as one of the attackers.
Ostrovsky, who grew up in Sydney after leaving the Soviet Union as a child, was injured in the head and treated at the scene.
“It was actually chaos. We didn’t know what was happening, where the gunfire was coming from. I saw blood gushing from me. I saw people hit, saw people fall to the ground,” he told a local news station, his head bandaged with blood visible on his face and clothing. “My only concern was, where are my kids? Where are my kids? Where’s my wife, where’s my family?”
He said he had been briefly separated from his family before finding them safe.
[Bondi Beach attack shows what 'globalize intifada' means]
'An absolute bloodbath'.
“I saw children falling to the floor, I saw elderly, I saw invalids,” he said. “It was an absolute bloodbath, blood gushing everywhere.”
The attack struck at a centerpiece of Jewish community in Sydney, home to an estimated 40,000 Jews, nearly half of Australia’s total Jewish population. At least 1,000 people had turned up for the beachside celebration on the first night of Hanukkah.
“There were people dead everywhere, young, old, rabbi - they’re all dead,” Vlad, a Jewish chaplain with the State Emergency Service, told a local TV station. “And then two people died while we’re trying to save them, because the ambulance didn’t arrive on time.”
He said the people who died were an elderly woman who had been shot in the leg and an “older gentleman” who was shot in the head.
“It’s not just people, it’s people that I know, people from our community, people that we know well, people that we see often,” said Vlad, who had covered his 8-year-old son with his body during the attack. “My rabbi is dead.”
The rabbi who was killed, Eli Schlanger, moved to Bondi Beach as an emissary of the Chabad movement 18 years ago. He was the father of five children, including a son born two months ago.
“He wasn’t some distant figure. He was the guy staying up late planning the logistics for a Menorah lighting that most people will take for granted. The one stressing about the weather. The one making sure there were enough latkes and the kids weren’t bored,” wrote Eliezer Tewel, another Chabad emissary, on social media.
“He was just doing his job. Showing up. Being the constant, reliable presence for his community,” Tewel added. “And that’s where the gut punch lands: He was killed while doing the most basic, kindest, most normal part of our lives. It wasn’t a battlefield. It was a Hanukkah party.”
[https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-880311/ JPost]
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Holocaust survivor killed while shielding wife from Bondi Beach terror attack.
By Anthony Blair.
Published Dec. 14, 2025, 3:01 p.m. ET
One of the victims of Sunday’s deadly terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia has been identified as a Holocaust survivor who was killed while shielding his wife from bullets, she revealed.
Alex Kleytman had travelled to Sydney’s world-famous Bondi Beach with his wife of 57 years, Larissa, for the Hanukkah event, when two terrorists opened fire.
“We were standing and suddenly came the ‘boom boom,’ and everybody fell down,” Larissa told the Australian newspaper.
(Larissa Kleytman, wife of victim Alex Kleytman, speaking to a reporter outside St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Australia).
“At this moment he [Alex] was behind me and at one moment he decided to go close to me. He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me,” she said.
Larissa’s relatives said Alex was shot and killed as he lay on the ground on top of his wife, saving her life in his final act.
“His body is still there and I am sitting there and don’t know what I have to do,” Larissa said as she left the hospital where she was taken in the wake of the deadly shooting.
“I have no husband. I don’t know… nobody can give me any answers,” she told reporters, clearly still in shock.
At least 15 people were killed and 29 wounded in the shooting at Bondi Beach, where around 2,000 people had gathered to mark the first day of Hanukkah.
Larissa, a fellow Holocaust survivor, met her husband in their native Ukraine before the pair moved to Australia, living for many years in the southeastern Sydney suburbs.
[https://nypost.com/2025/12/14/world-news/holocaust-survivor-killed-while-shielding-wife-from-bondi-beach-terror-attack/ NYPost]
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Holocaust survivor killed protecting wife in Bondi Beach shooting; surviving terrorist was recently fired construction worker.
Alex Kleytman was shot in the head while shielding his wife; police raid home of surviving attacker Naveed Akram and detain three; slain terrorist was known to police but not deemed an imminent threat.
News Agencies, Ynet, |12.14.25.
[https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1fecdnmzx YNet]
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Famed Australian rabbi Eli Schlanger, who just welcomed newborn son, among 15 killed in Bondi Beach terror attack.
By Anthony Blair.
Published Dec. 14, 2025.
A popular rabbi who had recently welcomed a new son just two months ago has been named as one of the first victims in Sunday’s deadly terrorist attack in Sydney which targeted worshippers at a Hanukkah event.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, had been one of the 2,000 in attendance at the event on Bondi Beach to mark the first night of Hanukkah when two terrorists opened fire on the crowd, killing at least 15 people and wounding 29 others.
Schlanger, the assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi in Sydney, had shared news of his new son in an Oct. 12 post on Facebook.
The father-of-five was born in the UK, where friends and family remembered him as “vivacious” and “joyful.”
His cousin, Rabbi Zalman Lewis, from Brighton, England, only learned of Schlanger’s death when a relative saw a list of the victims people were being asked to pray for.
“I left shul this morning and saw messages from my wife and sister on the family WhatsApp group. They recognised one of the names people were being asked to pray for,” Lewis told the British outlet Jewish News.
“We are just beginning to process this. It makes no sense at all. How can a joyful rabbi who went to a beach to spread happiness and light, to make the world a better place, have his life ended in this way?” he said.
Schlanger’s great-uncle, the late Reverend Lesli Olsberg, served as a rabbi at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, where two congregants were murdered in a terror attack during Yom Kippur last October.
Following that attack, he had criticised Australia’s Prime Minister for “fuelling terrorism” in the country.
“In these difficult times, we must stand united. Terrorism must never be excused, rewarded or negotiated with,” he wrote, as reported by Jewish News.
“To Anthony Albanese [Australia’s Prime Minister], I say this with urgency – stop fuelling terrorism by legitimizing those who spread hate. Listen to the voices of those who understand it firsthand,” he wrote.
Just weeks ago, Rabbi Schlanger had written a letter to the PM begging him to support Israel.
“As a rabbi in Sydney, I beg you not to betray the Jewish people and not God himself,” Schlanger wrote to Albanese, a left-winger widely seen as critical of Israel, according to Australian outlet Channel 12.
“Jews have been torn from their land again and again by leaders who are now remembered with contempt in the pages of history. You have an opportunity to stand on the side of justice,” Schlanger wrote.
[https://nypost.com/2025/12/14/world-news/famed-australian-rabbi-eli-schlanger-who-just-welcomed-newborn-son-among-11-killed-in-bondi-beach-terror-attack/ NYPost]
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Unspeakable Tragedy.
Fallen Hero: United Hatzalah Volunteer Hami Erlanger Killed in Tragic Crash on Way to Hanukkah.
Hami Erlanger, a devoted father of five and United Hatzalah hero, was tragically killed in a severe motorcycle crash while riding home from his army base to celebrate the Hanukkah holiday with his family in Harish.
Eliana Fleming
Dec 14, 2025
[https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/united-hatzalah-volunteer-killed / JFeed]
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French Jewish engineer named among victims of Bondi Beach attack.
Dan Elkayam, 27, recent émigré and active member of Sydney’s Jewish community, killed in shooting that left 16 dead; France condemns attack as antisemitic terror and vows to 'spare no effort to root out' phenomenon.
Itamar Eichner|12.14.25 14:54
[https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hjztychfwg YNet]
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Police raid home of Pakistani Muslim man suspected of Bondi Beach terror attack - report.
According to his Facebook page, viewed by the Post, Akram studied at Central Queensland University in Sydney and Hamdard University in Islamabad.
By Jerusalem Post Staff. December 14, 2025 14:23
One of the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah party was likely a Muslim man of Pakistani origin, a senior law enforcement official told ABC News.
The man's name is Naveed Akram, from Bonnyrigg, and his house had been raided.
[https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-880274 JPost]
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Bondi Beach terrorists were father and son who legally owned 6 guns — despite tough firearms laws.
By Alex Oliveira.
Published Dec. 14, 2025, 4:01 p.m. ET
The two gunmen who opened fire on Australia’s Bondi Beach where thousands of Jews were celebrating Hanukkah are believed to be a father-son duo who had a trove of legally-owned guns.
Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old accomplice are believed to be father and son, authorities said on Monday.
A report claims that the shooters are a father-son duo.
The father was killed at the scene during a shootout with police, while Akram is in the hospital after being critically wounded by cops.
Together they allegedly murdered at least 15 people ranging in age from 10 to 87 years old, most of whom are believe to be Jewish.
They owned at least six guns between them, each of which were fully licensed.
The shooting — which appears to have involved shotguns and a bolt-action rifle — come despite Australia cracking down on firearms following the 1996 Port Arthur mass shooting.
Semi-automatic rifles were banned and the country enacted strict registration and purchasing restrictions for all weapons.
The Bondi attack is the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since Port Arthur, which left 35 dead and 24 wounded.
[https://nypost.com/2025/12/14/world-news/bondi-beach-terrorists-were-father-and-son-who-legally-owned-6-guns-despite-tough-firearms-laws/ NYPost]
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The Jewish world should honor, praise Ahmed al-Ahmed.
If there is a Jewish Nobel for saving Jews, Ahmed al-Ahmed just won it - comment.
Ahmed al-Ahmed belongs in that moral family tree of the "Righteous Among the Nations."
By Zvika Klein. December 14, 2025.
The footage is hard to watch, and impossible to forget.
On the eve of Hanukkah’s first night, as families gathered on Bondi Beach to celebrate the Festival of Lights, gunfire tore through the crowd. Then, in the middle of chaos, one man did the unthinkable. Identified by Australian and international media as Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old Sydney fruit shop owner and father of two, he moved toward the attacker, wrapped him from behind, wrestled away the long gun, and forced the shooter to retreat. He was shot and hospitalized, but his split-second decision is widely credited with preventing even greater carnage
There is something profoundly Hanukkah about that moment.
Not because Ahmed is Jewish (as far as the reporting shows, he is not), and not because heroism belongs to any one people or faith. It is Hanukkah because Hanukkah is the insistence that light is not a metaphor. It is a responsibility. A candle does not negotiate with darkness. It pushes back, stubbornly, flame-first.
In Jewish history, the phrase “Righteous Among the Nations” is reserved for non-Jews who risked everything to save Jews during the Holocaust, recognized by Yad Vashem under a framework established by Israeli law. The names are etched into the Jewish conscience: Oskar Schindler, who used his factory to save Jews marked for death, and Raoul Wallenberg, who helped rescue Jews in Budapest with Swedish protective papers. Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who issued visas that became lifelines. Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who helped smuggle Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. The Ulma family in Poland, murdered for hiding Jews.
(People hold signs that read, "Antizionism is Bondi Beach, Anti-zionism is Jew Hate" and "Antizionism gets Jews killed" during a vigil outside the Australian Consulate on December 14, 2025 in New York City following the mass shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney).
These stories are not only about the Holocaust, but they are also about moral clarity under pressure, the choice to see a fellow human being and refuse to look away.
Ahmed al-Ahmed belongs in that moral family tree.
The setting is different. The century is different. The weaponry is different. But the basic equation is hauntingly familiar: Jews gather publicly as Jews, and someone decides that visibility is a crime punishable by death. That is not politics. That is not “tension.” That is hatred with a body count. Australian authorities have treated this Bondi Beach massacre as a terror attack targeting a Jewish Hanukkah gathering.
So what does the Jewish world do when a non-Jew quite literally runs into the line of fire to save Jewish lives?
First, say thank you loudly, clearly, and repeatedly. Not with vague platitudes about “humanity,” but with a direct acknowledgment of what he did: he likely saved dozens, perhaps hundreds, by stopping at least one gunman in the middle of an active attack. Gratitude should not be whispered, especially not in an era when moral cowardice is often presented as sophistication.
Second, honor him, publicly and formally.
It is time for Jewish organizations in Australia and worldwide to elevate Ahmed al-Ahmed as a symbol of what courage looks like when it is unscripted and unpolished, when it comes from instinct and decency rather than ideology. He did not have to calculate the risk. He lived it. According to reports, he was wounded and underwent medical treatment after being shot during the confrontation.
And yes, I believe the State of Israel should acknowledge him. Maybe he should be the next laureate of the Genesis Prize.
Not because Jews need saviors, but because Jews recognize righteousness when they see it. Israel is not only a refuge and a military power, but it is also the sovereign expression of Jewish memory. That memory includes a sacred ledger of those who stood with Jews when it was dangerous, inconvenient, or unpopular. When Israel honors that courage, it signals to the world that there is a difference between those who spread light and those who spread darkness, and that the Jewish people know the difference.
What would recognition look like? An invitation to Jerusalem. A public meeting with Israel’s president. A national citation for civilian bravery. A tree planted in his honor, not to imitate Yad Vashem’s specific Holocaust framework, but to echo its message: that saving Jewish life is an act the Jewish people record, remember, and repay with eternal gratitude.
There is another reason this matters.
The Bondi Beach attack will be exploited by extremists who want to turn it into fuel for collective blame, collective suspicion, and collective hate. That road leads nowhere good. Jews know what it means to be judged not as individuals but as a category, a problem, a target.
Ahmed’s story is the antidote to that poison.
“There are those in every religion who spread light, and there are those in every religion who spread darkness and hate,” I wrote to myself after reading the accounts of what happened. That is not a slogan. It is a reality check. The murderer on Bondi Beach chose darkness. Ahmed chose light.
Hanukkah’s message is not triumphalism. It is resolve. The miracle was not only that the oil lasted. The miracle was that Jews insisted on lighting the menorah anyway, in a world that had grown comfortable telling them to dim their presence. That is why Hanukkah is so emotionally charged in a year when Jews around the world are being told, explicitly or implicitly, to celebrate quietly, to hide symbols, to make themselves smaller for their own safety.
No. The answer to darkness is not disappearance. It is light.
The Jewish tradition calls this being an “or la’goyim” (a light unto the nations). It is also tied, in modern language, to tikkun olam (repairing the world). Those phrases are often overused, sometimes emptied of meaning. But on Bondi Beach, they snapped back into focus. A light unto the nations is not a branding exercise. It is a demand that human beings choose decency over cruelty, even when the consequences are immediate and personal.
Ahmed al-Ahmed did not deliver a speech. He did not write an op-ed. He did not post a manifesto about coexistence.
He saw Jews being hunted, and he acted.
The Jewish people owe him more than applause. They owe him recognition, memory, and honor. And Australia, too, should treat his bravery as a standard, not an exception, in the fight to protect minorities and defend the public square.
This Hanukkah, candles will be lit in Sydney, in Jerusalem, in New York, and in countless other places where Jews are asking a simple question: is it still safe to be visibly Jewish?
One answer, at least, came from a fruit shop owner who ran toward the gunfire.
Ahmed al-Ahmed reminded the world what light looks like.
[https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-880304 / JPost]
Sydney Hanukkah massacre terrorists identified as father and son; 10-year-old girl, 87-year-old man among victims.
Australian authorities say 15 people were killed in the antisemitic terror attack at Bondi Beach, including a child and an elderly man, as investigators rule out a third terrorist and release a minute-by-minute account of the massacre.
Itamar Eichner|12.14.25 15:49
Australian authorities said Sunday night that the death toll from the antisemitic terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach has risen to 15, including a 10-year-old girl and an 87-year-old man.
According to a report by Australia’s ABC network, the two terrorists who opened fire were a father and son. The father, believed to be in his 50s, was killed during the terror attack, while his son, Naveed Akram, 24, was seriously wounded and hospitalized. The father’s name has not yet been released.
Minute-by-minute account of the massacre.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there is no indication that a third terrorist was involved, after that possibility was examined earlier. He described the attack as “an act of pure evil” directed at Australian Jews and pledged that “every possible resource” would be devoted to the response, amid fears of copycat attacks during Hanukkah.
The terrorists identified as father and son
So far, authorities have released the names of three of the victims: Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary who helped organize the event; Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, whose wife said he was killed while trying to shield her; and Dan Elkayam, a 27-year-old French Jewish citizen who had immigrated to Sydney about a year ago. A total of 38 people were wounded in the attack.
'Kids lying by wounded mother under car, calling for help': testimonies from Bondi Beach attack.
The massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in Australia in nearly 30 years, since the 1996 Port Arthur shooting in Tasmania that killed 35 people. The following is a timeline of the attack, based on Australian local time:
5 p.m.
The ‘Hanukkah by the Sea’ event begins near Bondi Park at the northern end of Bondi Beach. Organized by Chabad, the celebration draws more than 1,000 people, including many children, for the lighting of the first Hanukkah candle.
6:47 p.m.
Police receive the first reports of gunfire, which investigators believe began minutes earlier. The two terrorists, dressed in black, arrive by car. A flag described as resembling that of ISIS is later reported near the vehicle. Video footage shows the terrorists opening fire from a nearby bridge.
7:05 p.m.
Police issue a public warning urging people in the area to take shelter, several minutes after the initial reports.
7:20 p.m.
According to the Daily Mail, the shooting is still ongoing more than 13 minutes after police were first alerted. Footage emerges of a civilian tackling one of the terrorists from behind after he leaves the bridge and continues firing inside the park. The civilian, identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop manager and father of two, is shot twice and hospitalized. Another bystander is seen helping subdue the terrorist, who later returns to the bridge.
7:30 p.m.
Additional footage shows both terrorists neutralized and handcuffed by police. The father is killed, and the son is critically wounded as bystanders shout at them.
9 p.m.
Police establish a closed security perimeter around the scene and confirm that several improvised explosive devices were found inside the terrorists’ vehicle. The devices are later neutralized.
9:20 p.m.
Dozens of police officers raid a property linked to the terrorists in Bonnyrigg, a suburb in southwestern Sydney. Three people are seen leaving the house with their hands raised. Police confirm that two people are arrested but do not disclose their identities or their connection to the attackers.
[https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1ehls3mwg YNet]
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US groups horrified but not surprised by attack on Sydney Jews, say Australia must do better.
"We will not just move on from this. Not in Australia or Europe or America. Antisemitism is a threat to all of society everywhere in the world," stated Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee.
JNS Staff.
(Dec. 14, 2025 / JNS)
North American Jewish organizations decried an antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, a popular tourist site in Sydney, Australia, in which at least 11 people were killed at a Chanukah celebration.
Many others were injured, including Arsen Ostrovsky, who recently moved to the country from Israel and who has written for JNS often. “I lived through Oct. 7. Never imagined I’d see this horror in Australia,” the human rights lawyer stated on social media, sharing a photo of himself bandaged and with his face covered in blood.
“Bullet grazed my head. Doctors said miracle survived, but will make recovery,” he wrote. “Tonight is first night of Chanukah. The forces of darkness and hate will never triumph. We will prevail.”
Betsy Berns Korn and William Daroff, chair and CEO respectively of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, an umbrella group for American groups, stated that they had joined a group of Jewish leaders in Australia the prior week to confront the “sharp rise” of Jew-hatred in the country.
The Conference of Presidents leaders said that they visited Jewish sites that had been firebombed and vandalized in Australia and also “experienced the strength and vibrancy of Australian Jewish life.”
Attending services the prior Shabbat at Chabad of Bondi Beach, they noted the “beautiful new building” and the community’s “warmth, faith and energy.”
“After services, we had the honor of sharing Shabbat lunch in the home of Rabbi Yehoram and Shternie Ulman with their family, including Rabbi Eli Schlanger and his wife, Chaya. We are devastated to learn that Rabbi Schlanger, z”l, was among those murdered today,” they said, using the Hebrew initialism for “may his memory be a blessing.”
“Our hearts are with the families of those killed and injured, and with our brothers and sisters in Sydney as they confront this brutal tragedy,” the two said. “This attack on the Bondi Beach community strikes at the heart of the entire Jewish people. We pray for the swift recovery of the injured and mourn those whose lives were taken in this senseless antisemitic act.”
Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, said that Washington “strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Australia targeting a Jewish celebration” and that “antisemitism has no place in this world.”
The American Jewish Committee stated that it is “heartbroken, sickened, horrified and outraged.”
“At least 11 people, including children, were murdered in cold blood in an antisemitic attack by two terrorists at Bondi Beach in Sydney, where a Chanukah celebration was taking place on Sunday,” the AJC said. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we pray for the full and swift recovery of those who were wounded.”
The AJC added that the terror attack came “after repeated warnings, including from the Australian Jewish community itself.” The Austrlaian Jewish community “had already endured fire bombings, graffiti, physical attacks and threats,” it said. “The community’s warnings have now become a devastating reality.”
Ted Deutch, CEO of the committee, stated that he was “horrified but not surprised.”
“Bondi Beach is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and Jewish kids celebrating the joyous holiday of Chanukah with their families is likewise one of the most beautiful images of our people,” he stated. “Both have now been ripped to pieces.”
Deutch said that Australian leaders must respond strongly.
“Not just statements, but bold action. From the prime minister. From state government leaders. From law enforcement and from Australian society,” he said. “This cannot be tolerated. We will not just move on from this. Not in Australia or Europe or America. Antisemitism is a threat to all of society everywhere in the world.”
“It’s not only the Jewish community that’s at risk if leaders fail to respond,” he added.
Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters stated that it is “devastated and heartbroken by the barbaric attack against a public Chanukah celebration.”
The movement said that Schlanger “devoted his life to sharing Jewish warmth, faith and community with others.”
The murdered rabbi “was doing exactly what he had been sent to do—bringing light and joy into the public square—when his life was cut down,” the movement said. “Rabbi Schlanger leaves his wife, Chayale, and their children, including a 2-month-old baby. We mourn him as family and stand with his loved ones and his community in their immeasurable loss.”
“This was a treacherous act of terror—an attack on community, on goodness and on light itself,” Chabad said. “It reflects a climate in which Jew-hatred has been allowed to grow and to turn violent. That reality must be confronted.”
It said that its emissaries worldwide will continue to light public menorahs “responsibly, in coordination with security authorities and without surrendering visibility or pride.”
“Jewish life will not be driven from the public square,” it said.
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America stated that the “act of violent extremism targeted a Jewish religious gathering during the most public expression of Jewish faith.”
“This was a direct assault on Jewish life,” the OU said. “Chanukah is the most public of Jewish holidays. We mark the defeat of ancient antisemitic persecution by lighting our menorahs openly and unapologetically. That is precisely why this attack matters. It was meant to intimidate, silence and drive Jews out of the public square. It will fail.”
“At a time when antisemitism is being normalized, excused and even justified in public discourse, this attack is no longer shocking,” the OU said. “It is the predictable result of unchecked incitement, extremist rhetoric and repeated failures by leaders to draw red lines.”
“Calls to ‘globalize the intifada’ are not slogans. They are threats, and they lead directly to violence,” the OU said.
Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, who has said that he would have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested in New York and who declined to decry the statement “globalize the intifada,” said that the attack “was a vile act of antisemitic terror.”
He added that “when I am mayor, I will work every day to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe—on our streets, our subways, at shul in every moment of every day.”
B’nai Brith Canada stated that “Bondi Beach was not random.”
“Jews were targeted because they were Jews. This is part of a global pattern of antisemitic violence, in synagogues, schools, cafés, streets and now beaches,” it said. “Waiting for it to happen here is not leadership, it’s negligence. To the Canadian government, do not wait for a Canadian Bondi Beach.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who denounced the “cowardly terrorist attack” at the Chanukah event, said that “although there are no specific threats to New Jersey at this time, out of an abundance of caution, we are boosting security at synagogues and community Chanukah celebrations throughout the state.”
He also directed the state attorney general, director of of the state homeland security office and state police superintendent to meet with rabbis “who are concerned about the safety and security of their houses of worship,” he said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that state police will “maintain heightened awareness of potential threats across our state” after the “cowardly terrorist attack against the Jewish community at Bondi Beach on the first night of Chanukah.”
“New York will always stand against the scourge of antisemitism and confront violence head-on,” she said.
Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, said, “Make no mistake, this will not break us.”
“We will continue to stand proudly, united against all forms of violence and hate, and in unwavering solidarity with Jewish communities everywhere,” he stated.
[https://www.jns.org/us-groups-horrified-but-not-surprised-by-attack-on-sydney-jews-say-australia-must-do-better/ JNS]
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PM Albanese avoids questions about failure to protect Jews.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, NSW Premier Chris Minns and police chiefs vowed to combat antisemitism, announced nationwide security measures, and confirmed the attackers were a father and son.
Israel National News.
Dec 14, 2025, 10:38 PM
[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/419331 INN]
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Ivanka Trump: 'The world needs more light and more Kiddush Hashem'.
Marking the first night of Hanukkah, the US president’s daughter said the Sydney terror attack underscores the need for compassion, sanctifying G-d’s name, and bringing light into a dark world.
Israel National News.
Published: Dec 14, 2025, 10:08 PM (GMT+2)
[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/419329 INN]
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Beacons of Solidarity.
Knesset Illuminates in Australian Colours As Sydney Attack Death Toll Rises to 15.
The Israeli Knesset building was illuminated in the colours of the Australian flag as a sign of solidarity with the Jewish community in Sydney, where the death toll from the horrific terror attack tragically rose to 15 victims, including one child.
Eliana Fleming
Dec 14, 2025
[https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/knesset-solidarity-sydney-attack JFeed]
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Beyond Belief: Mamdani Condemns Sydney Attack But Calls Terrorists "Men With Long Guns"
Politician Zohran Mamdani condemned the Sydney terror attack as a "vile act of antisemitic terror" but sparked furious backlash from the Jewish community for deliberately referring to the perpetrators as just "men with long guns."
Eliana Fleming.
Dec 14, 2025 .
[https://www.jfeed.com/news-world/mamdani-sydney-attack-response JFeed]
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Mossad sent warnings to Australia about antisemitic terror attack risks.
The local police commissioner denied that there was any intelligence prior to the attack, KAN noted.
By Yonah Jeremy Bob. December 14, 2025 .
The Mossad has been warning Australia regularly for months about Iranian and other potential terror plots against Jews...
[https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-880283 JPost]
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Shooting at Bondi Beach is what a globalized intifada looks like - analysis.
The Bondi shooting was not an isolated act of violence. It was the logical endpoint of the normalization of radicalized anti-Israel rhetoric in Australia.
By Herb Keinon. December 14, 2025.
All those wondering what the slogan “globalize the intifada” means need look no further than Bondi Beach.
Terrorists calmly firing into a crowd at a Hanukkah celebration. Screams. Panic. Parents fleeing with hysterical children. Victims lying dead on the sand.
[https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-880297 JPost]
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'F*** the Jews': Gunman fires 20 bullets into Jewish family's Hanukkah-decorated home in California.
According to door cam footage, the suspect shouted antisemitic slurs such as 'F*** the Jews' as he fired at the home from his car.
By Mathilda Heller. December 14, 2025.
A gunman fired 20 bullets into the home of a Jewish family in Redlands, California, on Saturday.
The family’s home was clearly Jewish, as they had decorated the exterior for Hanukkah.
[https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-880301 JPost]
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IDF says Hezbollah violated ceasefire 1,900 times, citing continued presence in southern Lebanon.
Yoav Zitun |12.14.25
[https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hk4ty002mwe YNet]
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IDF takes out Zakaria Yahya al-Hajj, senior Hezbollah terrorist, in southern Lebanon.
IDF successfully eliminates Zakaria Yahya al-Hajj, senior member of Hezbollah, in Jwaya area strike, vows to continue its operations to eliminate any threat to Israel’s security.
Israel National News.
Published: Dec 14, 2025, 8:34 PM (GMT+2)
Updated: 21:24
[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/419322 INN]
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Corrupt to the core.
IDF Spokesman: Hamas Demanded Rent on Tents During Storm "Byron".
Pictures of Gaza during Storm "Byron" last week caused renewed anti-Israel sentiment online and around the world. IDF Arabic Spokesman Avichai Adraee released documents showing that Hamas demanded rent from civilians to stay in tents on the beach during the storm.
Judah Pe'er
Dec 14, 2025.
[https://www.jfeed.com/middleeast/hamas-tent-rent-storm-byron JFeed]
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