Bay Area Jewish community mourns Australian terrorist attack coinciding with Hanukkah

For three cousins of Rabbi Dovber Berkowitz of the Jewish organization, Chabad of Contra Costa, the first night of Hanukkah was supposed to begin the same way Berkowitz was planning to celebrate in Walnut Creek on Sunday evening: with a menorah lighting celebration.

Working as rabbis and youth directors in Sydney’s Jewish community, his cousins were attending the Bondi Beach Hanukkah event that was thrown into chaos when two gunmen opened fire, killing 15 people. His relatives, some of whom witnessed the deadly attack, escaped uninjured.

The tragedy left the Bay Area Jewish community shaken, but determined on Sunday to proceed with the lighting of the menorah at celebrations that suddenly turned to a day of remembrance with heightened security measures in San Jose, Oakland and Walnut Creek for the victims thousands of miles away in Australia.

“This is something which we were all very shaken up with,” Berkowitz said.

Because of its time zone, Sydney is one of the first cities worldwide that gets to celebrate Hanukkah, Berkowitz added.

“In a sense, this was the onset of Hanukkah,” he said.

Authorities say two gunmen — identified as a father and son — attacked the Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, killing 15 people between the ages of 10 and 87 and injuring more than 40 in what the Australian prime minister called an act of antisemitic terrorism. The Chanukah by the Sea event was hosted by Chabad of Bondi, a branch of an Orthodox Jewish movement that also operates outreach across the Bay Area, to celebrate the first of eight nights of the Jewish holiday.

“This is the story of Hanukkah,” Rabbi Mendel Weinfeld of Chabad of Almaden in San Jose said. “This is exactly what Hanukkah is about — that over and over again, we have these stories, and we stood up and we were a resilient people, and that’s what our community feels as well, that we’re going to go back into the public square and we’re going to light menorah again.”

Weinfeld said that the Bay Area Jewish community is “devastated and heartbroken,” but that the tragedy has also sparked determination to “get together like never before.”

Before Sunday night’s events, rabbis in San Jose, Oakland and Contra Costa requested increased police patrols, with officers set to be stationed on every block at Santana Row and Chabad Oakland hiring private security.

At Santana Row in San Jose late Sunday afternoon, more than 200 people gathered at Plaza Valencia to celebrate Hanukkah with a concert and menorah lighting amid a visible police presence. While many had the tragedy at top of mind, they maintained a vibrant attitude, sending a clear message that they would not be deterred or lose their spirit.

“Nothing’s going to stop us from continuing. And letting fear get to us is the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do with Hanukkah,” said Tovah Enumah, 36, who traveled to the event from Pleasanton. “We’re trying to spread light into a dark world, and as we see after events like this, it’s a very, very dark world, but it needs a lot more light.”

Rabbi Mark Bloom of Temple Beth Abraham shared at the menorah lighting at Lake Merritt in Oakland Sunday that he worked as a rabbi in Sydney, where he was only a seven minute drive from Bondi Beach.

“I’ve been in touch with lots of friends today. They are absolutely devastated,” Bloom said. “Their world has changed, and it started to change post-Oct. 7”

Rabbi Dovid Labkowski of Chabad Oakland said that the tragedy has sparked determination in more people to come out to menorah lighting celebrations, adding that the Jewish community doesn’t “want to cower, they want to show their Jewish pride, and they want to come out and show that we’re not going to be scared of this.”

“The Jewish response to terror has never been to retreat,” Weinfeld said. “Hanukkah teaches us to bring the light exactly where darkness tries to intrude.”

Weinfeld added that one of the people killed in the shooting was a fellow Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who “devoted his life to sharing warmth and faith and community with others, and he was bringing light and joy in the public square when his life was cut short.”

Weinfeld added that the Jewish community will proceed in its celebrations of Hanukkah “without surrendering.”

“This was an act of terror, an act on community, on goodness, on light itself,” Weinfeld said. “It reflects a climate where Jew hatred was allowed to grow and to turn violent. That has to be confronted, and it demands accountability. Jewish life has to be safeguarded through concrete and heightened measures to deter any calls for violence against Jews.”

The terrorist attack comes amid an increase in antisemitism as many Jewish people “feel less safe in public spaces and less comfortable expressing their identity publicly,” according to the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Tali Klima, spokesperson for Bay Area Jewish Coalition, said that the local Jewish community feels “attacked from every direction.”

“There are multiple community celebrations in the Bay Area tonight, the first night of Hanukkah, and Jewish residents are asking whether it’s safe to publicly celebrate our culture and identity,” Klima said. “As a community, we feel very alone right now.”

Local leaders, too, condemned the attacks and expressed support for the Bay Area Jewish community.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said that the attack was “devastating” and an “attack on our values.” He added in a statement that he has coordinated with the chief of the San Jose Police Department to ensure that those attending events in celebration and remembrance can do so safely.

“This was a deliberate attempt to inject fear into a community that has been targeted in this country and across the world for centuries,” Mahan said. “We will not let that fear prevent us from coming together. And we will not let the hate of others tear down the values we hold dear.”

While speaking at the Santana Row event, Mahan also referenced another antisemitic incident that occurred in San Jose earlier this month when a group of Branham High School students created a “human swastika.”

“While San Jose is a beautifully diverse and largely safe city, we’re not immune to the disease of hatred. We’ve seen actions even recently in one of our high schools. It is extremely disturbing,” Mahan said. “We stand with you. Our city is richer for your presence and contributions.”

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said in a statement that the city stands with its Jewish community in light of the deadly attack.