Dear Friends,

The joyful holiday of Chanukah begins tonight, December 14th. This eight-day celebration - also known as the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication - commemorates the Jewish victory over Greek occupiers who attempted to destroy Israel physically and spiritually almost 2,200 years ago.

This year, as more than 1,000 Australian Jews gathered at Bondi Beach in Sydney to light the first candle of Chanukah, at least two Islamist terrorists opened fire on the crowd, killing sixteen people (as of this writing) and wounding dozens more.

Obviously, the Australian Jewish community of less than 100,000, and all Jews worldwide, are traumatized by this horrific manifestation of Jew-hatred. However, as one Australian Jewish leader said, they are actually not surprised by what happened. This is because within days of Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, antisemitic incidents increased dramatically throughout Australia, as they have around the world. The writing, as we say, was - and still is - on the wall.

In the last two years in Australia, hostile crowds have burned Israeli flags and shouted death to the Jews. A march in Sydney included flags of terrorist groups and calls to globalize the intifada. A few months ago, 50,000 Muslims marched and chanted, "We are awaiting orders." Just this past year, between October 2024 and September 2025, 1,654 such hate-filled occurrences have been recorded in Australia alone.

The Jewish people are well aware that verbal and physical demonstrations of Jew-hatred always lead to deadly violence, just like what took place in Sydney on the first night of Chanukah. However, the Jewish people are strong and resilient, and as we see throughout history, they will continue to survive and thrive, in spite of such tragedy. They always do! 

Indeed, the lesson of Chanukah is that the Jewish people will survive, no matter what. The victory of the Maccabees over the Greek occupier, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, resulted in the reinstitution of Jewish rule in Israel and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem almost 2,200 years ago, or about 160 years before the birth of Jesus.

The Greek occupation of ancient Israel was a dangerous time for the Jewish people. The very survival of Jewish identity was at stake as the Greeks attempted to force the people of Israel to reject their belief in the one true God and accept the polytheism of the Greek Empire. Jews were expected to abandon their obedience to Torah and central tenets of Judaism such as Sabbath observance and circumcision were outlawed. 

However, in the face of incredible persecution and against all odds, the Jews refused to reject their faith, drove the mightiest army on earth at the time from the land of Judea, rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem and lit the Temple menorah.

Because there are still enemies who seek to destroy the Jewish people any way possible, the celebration of the Maccabees' victory is just as relevant now as it was then! Ancient events remembered during this holiday of Chanukah provide an inspiring example for us today of the triumph of good over evil when people of faith resist forces of darkness. 

Edmund Burke said: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." There was one such good man at Bondi Beach during this year's first day of Chanukah. Videos show him risking his own life to tackle one of the gunmen and take his gun away. The brave actions of this one man prevented an unknown number of additional deaths and injuries. 

The history of the Jewish people demonstrates that their ongoing experience is one of simultaneous occurrence of sadness and joy. Therefore, in spite of the tragedy at Bondi Beach, the lighting of the candles of Chanukah will continue in celebration of the ultimate victory of light over darkness, of good over evil.

During this Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication, let us all rededicate ourselves to be light in the darkness and to be the ones who take action in the face of evil. In such a time as this, we must not be silent, and we must not do nothing! 

Am Yisrael Chai! The people of Israel live!
Chag Chanukah Sameach! Happy Chanukah!