There’s been an outpouring of grief and support from Canadians for the Jewish community in Australia, with many saying they’re “horrified” after two men shot and killed 15 people and injured 40 others at a Jewish holiday celebration at Sydney’s world-famous Bondi Beach on Sunday.
“I used to be really horrified,” said Bobbi Zahra, a Jewish woman living in Halifax who said she knows members of Sydney’s community. “I assumed, ‘It’s Hanukkah. We are able to’t also have a Hanukkah celebration?’ I mean, Hanukkah itself back within the day was a political thing, it was about warding off marauders, but Hanukkah today is a celebration of sunshine, it’s a celebration of hope.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed Zahra’s comments in regards to the horror of the incident, and said on X that Canadians stand with Jewish people “in every single place.”
“Canada stands with the people of Australia and Jewish people in every single place in sorrow, and determination never to bow to terrorism, violence, hatred and intimidation,” Carney wrote.
The violence erupted at the tip of a hot summer day when hundreds had flocked to the beach, including a whole bunch gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event celebrating the beginning of the eight-day Hanukkah festival.
Police said emergency services were called to Bondi about 6:45 p.m. local time, responding to reports of shots being fired. Video filmed by onlookers showed people in bathing suits running from the water as shots rang out. Separate footage showed two men in black shirts with rifles firing from a footbridge resulting in the beach as sirens wailed and other people cried out within the background.
One dramatic clip broadcast on Australian television showed a person appearing to tackle and disarm one in all the gunmen, before pointing the person’s weapon at him, then setting the gun on the bottom.
Recent South Wales Premier Chris Minns called the unidentified man a “real hero.”
Police say 13 people died on the scene and 42 people, including 4 children, were taken to Sydney-area hospitals. Police said two of the hospitalized people, a 10-year-old girl and 40-year-old man, have since died in hospital, bringing the whole to fifteen.
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One gunman, a 50-year-old, was fatally shot by police and the second, a 24-year-old man, was arrested and in critical condition, authorities said. Police added that one in all the gunmen was known to the safety services, but there had been no specific threat.
A minimum of 40 people were confirmed injured, including two law enforcement officials.
Officials declared the incident a terrorist attack.
‘We don’t give in to terror,’ rabbi says
Despite the attack, some are speaking out in defiance, with some rabbis within the Greater Toronto Area saying they plan to proceed with their very own Hanukkah celebrations.
“It’s chilling to appreciate that this was meant to be the primary public menorah lighting on the planet this Chanuka – an try to spread fear in every single place, to make Jews think twice about gathering, singing, or shining openly,” said rabbis Avraham E Plotkin and Meir Gitlin of the Tamim Academy of York Region in an announcement. “And that’s precisely why tonight’s Chanuka Menora lighting and Garden of Lights program and concert matters greater than ever. Tonight, we don’t give in to terror.”
Levi Gansburg, the rabbi at Chabad on Bayview, said his synagogue will proceed to spread light and positivity with its own celebrations this week.
“We’re here to remain, we’re here to contribute, and a bit of bit of sunshine dispels much darkness, and we are going to proceed to be that little light that may dispel evil and eradicate hate once and for all from this earth,” Gansburg told Global News.
Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement that runs outreach centres world wide and sponsors public events during major Jewish holidays, identified one in all the dead as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the event.
Gansburg confirmed to Global News that the rabbi has ties to Toronto.
Canadian police agencies said on Sunday they’re providing more resources to make sure safety.
In an announcement posted on X, Toronto police said they were closely monitoring the events in Australia and “any activity that will goal Jewish people,” and would proceed to guard its communities.
Police Chief Myron Demkiw said in response to world events, the service would increase its presence in public spaces, places of worship and schools and that throughout the holiday season, residents would see more officers present.
Vancouver police also said they’re taking “proactive steps” to make sure the protection of the community during Hanukkah, including additional officers on patrol and present at “key locations and events” throughout the Jewish community.
Antisemitic attacks have roiled Australia, the house to about 117,000 Jews, in line with official figures.
Incidents including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation, surged greater than three-fold within the country throughout the yr after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the following conflict that erupted within the months that followed, in line with the federal government’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal.
Last yr, synagogues and cars were torched, businesses and houses graffitied and Jews attacked within the cities of Sydney and Melbourne.
Canada is not any stranger to such attacks either, with antisemitic incidents spiking across the country after the Oct. 7 attack.
In line with Statistics Canada, incidents of hate crimes against the Jewish community jumped to 900 in 2023 from 527 the previous yr. In 2024, the number remained high at 816.
It’s why within the wake of the Bondi Beach incident, Jewish organizations in Canada once more called for more motion from governments.
“I feel condolences for the fallen in Australia and the sympathy for the survivors may be very welcome and meaningful, nevertheless it does nothing to stop the subsequent attack,” said Noah Shack, CEO for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
“What we want now could be for Canadians to get up and recognize that the identical thing could occur here, for our governments to take urgent motion in any respect levels, to acknowledge the threat and address it in partnership with law enforcement, to be certain that communities are kept protected and at the identical time that we’re addressing among the root causes which are driving this extremist violence in countries across the Western world.”
—with files from Global News’ Heidi Petracek, Lexy Benedict Jeff Semple and Stewart Bell, and The Associated Press