On December 8, 2025, the tranquil sands of Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, became the scene of a devastating act of violence that has sent shockwaves through Jewish communities worldwide. As families gathered for a Hanukkah celebration—an event meant to mark resilience and faith—two gunmen opened fire, killing fifteen people, including a 10-year-old girl, and injuring dozens more. The attack, which unfolded in front of around 1,000 attendees, has left survivors and witnesses grappling with trauma and reignited urgent conversations about antisemitism and public safety.
Among those caught in the chaos were relatives of the UK’s chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis. In a harrowing account shared with the BBC, Rabbi Mirvis revealed, “My cousin and his wife spent 15 terrifying minutes hiding under a doughnut stand as gunmen opened fire. People to their right and left were being shot dead.” The victims, whose ages ranged from 10 to 87, included two rabbis and a Holocaust survivor—individuals who represented both the continuity and the vulnerability of Jewish life.
The attackers were identified in local media as 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who died at the scene, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, who remains hospitalized in critical condition. Both had reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, according to BBC reporting. The calculated targeting of a Jewish festival has intensified fears within Jewish communities far beyond Australia’s shores.
Rabbi Mirvis, who represents the largest Jewish community in the UK, did not mince words about the significance of the attack. He announced plans to travel to Sydney on December 16, 2025, to stand in solidarity with the bereaved and survivors. “Jewish people had been targeted for the simple act of gathering together, visibly and peacefully, as Jews,” he stated. “The right of Jewish communities to gather safely and publicly is a test of the moral health of any society.”
In the days following the attack, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed the House of Commons, vowing to protect British Jews and pledging a more visible security presence at Hanukkah events. “This is clearly not an isolated incident, and these incidents are chillingly focused on some of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar,” Starmer said, referencing a recent attack on Heaton Park Synagogue during Yom Kippur that left two dead. “We will take every step we can and use all powers to make British Jews safe.”
The impact of the Bondi Beach shooting was felt acutely in the UK, where Jewish communities have faced a surge in antisemitic hate crime since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. According to the Community Security Trust (CST), which organizes security for UK Jewish communities, anti-Jewish hate crime reached record levels in the wake of that event. Dave Rich, the CST’s head of policy, told the BBC, “We have had huge protests ongoing in our city centres and university campuses with language like calls for intifada. Jewish people see a connection between violent words and violent actions. The Bondi attack was the extreme end of this political spectrum.”
Calls for a stronger response came from across the political spectrum. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch expressed her horror at the attacks, stating, “I think that for several years now we have not done enough” to tackle antisemitism. Meanwhile, the prime minister’s spokesman emphasized that the government had already increased funding and efforts to combat hate crime after the Manchester synagogue attack. Lord West, speaking for the government in the House of Lords, assured the public that while there was “no specific intelligence of a linked threat” in the UK, “we must remain vigilant.”
Solidarity with the Jewish community was visible in vigils and memorials across the UK. In Manchester, Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones joined around 200 members of the Jewish community to light the menorah and remember those lost in both Manchester and Bondi. The service, led by Rabbi Daniel Walker, encouraged attendees to find “light in darkness,” a sentiment that resonated deeply during a time of grief and fear. The menorah was lit by the widow of Melvin Cravitz, a victim of the Manchester attack.
The outpouring of support was not limited to the Jewish community. On December 14, 2025, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, sent a message of sympathy to Rabbi Mirvis. “I write to offer my deepest condolences following the devastating terrorist attack at Bondi Beach,” Cardinal Nichols wrote, as reported by CBCEW. “Such senseless violence is a tragic reminder of the pain that hatred and terror inflict on innocent people, and it is a hurt felt across faiths and nations. In this time of grief, I hope you find strength and comfort in the outpouring of solidarity from people of all backgrounds who stand with you against violence and antisemitism.”
Yet, even amid these gestures of unity, there were signs of division and frustration. When public health minister Ashley Dalton expressed her solidarity with the Jewish community at a memorial, she was met with boos, heckles, and cries of “shame” and “stop the marches” from some in the crowd. Shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson, himself related to a Bondi Beach victim, called for the UK to be “more muscular in fighting the root causes of antisemitic violence.”
For Rabbi Mirvis, the solution lies in confronting not just the violence but the rhetoric that fuels it. He called for authorities to crack down on hate speech and address the causes of what he termed “toxic antisemitism.” “For far too long we have allowed chants such as ‘globalise the intifada,’ which incite hatred and inspire people to engage in hate action,” he warned. “Why is it still allowed? What is the meaning of globalise the intifada? I’ll tell you the meaning... it’s what happened on Bondi Beach yesterday. We have to be far stricter with regard to what people are allowed to say and to do in a way which incites the hatred, which produces the violence that we have witnessed.”
The festival of Hanukkah, at the heart of this tragedy, commemorates a revolt led by the Maccabee family against ancient Greek oppression some 2,150 years ago. The story, as retold by Rabbi Mirvis, is one of defiance and hope—of a menorah that burned for eight days with only a day’s supply of oil. “The message of the festival is about Jews’ refusal to be intimidated or erased,” he said. “The Jewish community is nervous. The Jewish community is strong. The Jewish community is worried, but we’re tenacious. You’ll see us during the eight days of Hanukkah, we’ll be out there.”
As the world mourns those lost at Bondi Beach and elsewhere, the call for vigilance, solidarity, and action against hate has rarely felt more urgent. The Jewish community’s determination to celebrate Hanukkah in public—despite the risks—serves as both a testament to resilience and a challenge to societies everywhere: to ensure that no group must live in fear simply for gathering together in peace.
