Day after attack, mourners gather in Bondi to light Hanukkah candles, pray for peace

Addressing vigil at massacre site, local rabbi tells some 1,000 people that ‘lightness will always persevere; darkness cannot continue where there is light’

A day after the terror attack at a Jewish community event at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, people gathered at the site of the massacre to light Hanukkah candles for the second night of the eight-day holiday.

According to local reporting, over 1,000 people came out Monday evening to pay their respects and mark the lighting of the menorah, in the same park where two terrorists opened fire on the Chabad-hosted “Chanukah by the Sea” event, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens.

As the vigil got underway, the large crowd sang “Ya’aseh Shalom,” a prayer for peace, as well as several other Hebrew songs and Jewish prayers.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, and Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane both joined the vigil, according to the Australian public broadcaster ABC.

Speaking at the vigil was Rabbi Yossi Shuchat, who told attendees that “yesterday was a tragic event, which words cannot explain.”

“Lightness will always persevere; darkness cannot continue where there is light,” he said, according to ABC.

At the Bondi vigil, one woman who identified herself as Jewish was removed by police for wearing a Palestinian-style keffiyeh.

A separate vigil was held in Sydney’s Hyde Park, where hundreds gathered to light candles and pray for the recovery of the nearly 40 people who were wounded in the attack, as well as the families of those who were killed.

Sydney Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins said that while the terrorists’ “intent was to murder Jews,” Australians now stood together united.

“So many in our Jewish community have received messages of love from leaders in different faith communities, from Palestinian friends and friends around this country, and in so doing, we are now learning we are all just flesh and blood, and we are all also the light,” he told the crowd.

Bilal Rauf, a local imam, also spoke, telling the crowd that especially after the trauma of the 2019 Christchurch massacre against Muslims in New Zealand, the Muslims of Australia “understand the pain and grief [of] our Jewish brothers and sisters, and that’s why we say loud and clearly we stand with you.”

Similar vigils were held in cities across Australia, with some 2,000 people gathering in Melbourne, as well as hundreds in Perth, Canberra and several other cities.