after australia hanukkah massacre, montreal's jewish community decries 'times of danger'
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belongings of members of the jewish community are seen the morning after the dec. 14, 2025 attack at bondi beach in sydney, australia.
david gray
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afp via getty images
montreal police have announced that, following a terrorist attack targeting the jewish community in sydney, australia, they will increase “vigilance and visibility” in communities in which hanukkah celebrations are taking place.
“we are in direct contact with leaders of montreal’s jewish community and are listening to their concerns,” the police department said in a statement sunday.
at least 15 people were killed and more than three dozen others injured in a shooting by two gunmen at an event at bondi beach in sydney celebrating the start of the jewish festival of hanukkah on sunday evening, local time. reports said more than 1,000 were in attendance.
australian police have deemed the shooting a terrorist attack and said the suspects were a father and son. authorities said the father was shot dead by police and the son was in custody, in critical condition. police said they had found what they believed to be several improvised explosive devices in a vehicle linked to the suspect who was killed.
victims ranged in age from 10 to 87 and many of those being treated were in critical condition. police commissioner mal lanyon indicated at a news conference that the two men were the only suspects. “we are not looking for a third person,” he said.
montreal mayor soraya martinez ferrada posted on x: “the attack on a jewish community in australia breaks my heart. a day of great celebration and love has been turned into an act of violence and antisemitism.”
she said in her post that, on learning of the attack, she spoke with montreal police chief fady dagher “to ensure that our police officers increase their level of vigilance in montreal’s jewish communities.”
“these communities are feeling anxious, and our police officers are there to support them,” the mayor wrote. “caution is warranted, but i am confident that the spirit of togetherness that characterizes montreal will guide everyone’s actions.”
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in the aftermath of the oct. 7, 2023 hamas-led terrorist attacks on israel, there was a proliferation of antisemitic incidents in montreal and elsewhere, with targeted harassment of jewish institutions and people for their perceived support of israel, according to b’nai brith canada. in 2024, antisemitism in canada reached “perilous, record-setting heights,” the canadian jewish rights advocacy agency found in its annual audit.
sunday’s statement from montreal police said: “we are currently reviewing our position on the ground and will increase our vigilance and visibility in areas where neighbourhood celebrations are taking place between now and the end of hanukkah. we are also monitoring the situation as it evolves, with the help of our partners at all levels.”
hanukkah, known also as the festival of lights, starts at sundown on the 25th day of the hebrew month of kislev, which this year falls on sunday, dec. 14, and lasts eight days.
the festival recalls one of the earliest recorded instances of people fighting for freedom from religious tyranny and celebrates jewish identity.
in a bid to destroy them by destroying their religion, the greek-syrian leader antiochus prohibited jews from practising the basic customs and laws of judaism; this led to a revolt by a small band of jewish rebels known as the maccabees around 164 bc. although they were few against many, they were victorious. when they retook the temple in jerusalem to clean it and prepare it for its re-dedication, they discovered only enough sanctified ritual oil to burn for a single day. but it burned for eight days — the time for new oil to be pressed and prepared. to believers, that was a miracle.
hanukkah is often celebrated at home, but also at public gatherings. its central ritual is the lighting of an eight-branched candelabrum known as a menorah or a hanukkiah, adding one light for each of its nights so that by the eighth, it is ablaze with light. public menorah lighting ceremonies take place each year in montreal-area communities including notre-dame-de-grâce, hampstead, westmount and hudson.
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placing the menorah in a window during hanukkah is considered a way to “publicize the miracle,” making the celebration visible to neighbours as a statement of faith, religious freedom and jewish identity.
part of the response to incidents including the bondi beach attack on the jewish community in sydney, australia, “has to just be to lean into being who we are, to not be afraid to turn up for hanukkah parties and services,” says rabbi lisa grushcow, spiritual leader of temple emanu-el-beth sholom in westmount.
dave sidaway
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montreal gazette files
rabbi lisa grushcow, spiritual leader of temple emanu-el-beth sholom in westmount, said the timing of the sydney attack was likely an intentional message intended to instil fear in jewish people at the start of hanukkah. “this is a message that says: ‘you’re not safe to celebrate your holiday,'” she told the canadian press.
the response, she said, is to not be deterred from marking the holiday — while at the same time working with police and security organizations to make sure people are safe at gatherings and candle-lighting ceremonies.
hanukkah is not only a celebration of light and hope and resilience, but also a historical holiday that “remembers the time in jewish history when there was a lot of pressure against being jewish, against celebrating how we celebrate, and holding on to the identity that we have that’s distinct and unique,” grushcow said.
”so i think part of the response has to just be to lean into being who we are, to not be afraid to turn up for hanukkah parties and services.”
she encouraged members of the wider public to ask their jewish friends, colleagues and neighbours if there are any hanukkah events they can attend to show solidarity — similar to the “rings of peace” that have formed around mosques at prayer time following islamophobic attacks.
“i do think there’s an opportunity to really show solidarity and support in concrete ways,” grushcow said.
on sunday, federal and provincial leaders as well as religious and community leaders condemned the sydney attack, conveyed messages of condolence for the victims and their families, and expressed their solidarity with the people of australia and the broader jewish community.
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“canada stands with the people of australia and jewish people everywhere in sorrow, and determination never to bow to terrorism, violence, hatred and intimidation,” canadian prime minister mark carney said on x.
several leaders’ messages referenced hanukkah, which carney described as “a time of light amidst the darkness, and a remembrance of the resilience of the jewish people. may we all support and strengthen that resilience to protect our jewish communities and to ensure more fundamentally that all people can thrive in every aspect of our society.”
a member of the jewish community reacts as he walks with police toward the scene of the shooting at bondi beach in sydney, australia, on december 14, 2025.
david gray
/
afp via getty images
“hanukkah reminds us that light endures even in the darkest moments,” new brunswick premier susan holt said on x. “we must stand together to protect our jewish communities and ensure everyone can live in safety and dignity.”
amira elghawaby, canada’s special representative on combatting islamophobia, said on x: “my deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones and to everyone who will be deeply impacted at an especially sacred time of year, when families and communities gather to mark hanukkah, a time that is meant to symbolize hope and resilience.”
québec solidaire co-spokesperson ruba ghazal posted: “no one should have to fear for their safety because of their religion. my heart goes out to the families of those who were killed, injured and traumatized by the barbarous act. i condemn antisemitism and the hatred that has no place in the world.”
“i condemn in the strongest possible terms the antisemitic attack in australia,” said quebec premier françois legault. “my thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones, the jewish community and all those touched by the senseless violence.”
calling the images from australia “shattering,” quebec liberal party chief pablo rodriguez said on x: “i strongly condemn this antisemitic act. my thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the entire jewish community.”
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rabbi adam scheier, senior rabbi of congregation shaar hashomayim in westmount, signed a message to the synagogue community on sunday: “in pain, solidarity and hope.”
the shaar community “joins together with jewish communities across the world in mourning the horrific attack on the jewish community of sydney, australia,” he began.
the incident is tragic in its own right, he wrote, but the tragedy deepens when it is placed in the company of attacks such as those on the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh in 2018, in which 11 worshippers were killed by a white supremacist; a terrorist attack this year on a synagogue in manchester, england, during yom kippur, the holiest day on the jewish calendar; “and too many others. … our feelings of vulnerability and pain are understandable, and very present in these dark moments.”
sadly, scheier wrote, the reality of antisemitism is built into the structure of hanukkah. the story itself speaks of targeted oppression of jews by their enemies, he said, and, later, jewish law created contingencies for those who, because of danger to them, were unable to publicly declare their jewish identity by placing a menorah in view of the outside world.
“an attack on a public hanukkah celebration challenges the core of our identity as jews living in a free society: those times of danger were supposed to remain in the distant past,” he said.
“we are a strong community, committed to bringing light to the world. we send embraces to family and friends impacted by this tragedy, and we’ll hold each other close in the days ahead.”
the reality of antisemitism is built into the structure of hanukkah, says rabbi adam scheier of congregation shaar hashomayim in westmount.
allen mcinnis
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montreal gazette files
national jewish groups also condemned the sydney attack. centre for israel and jewish affairs ceo noah shack said in a statement that his group is “devastated by the horrifying scenes in sydney” and that the group stands in solidarity with australia’s jewish community.
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“bondi beach was not random,” b’nai brith canada said in a statement posted to social media on sunday. “jews were targeted because they were jews.”
linking the bondi attack to a global surge in antisemitism, the jewish rights advocacy agency called on the federal government to take immediate measures to safeguard jewish life in canada.
“waiting for it to happen here is not leadership, it is negligence,” the agency said, calling on all levels of government to, among other things, “enforce existing hate-crime laws … dismantle extremist networks promoting violence and terrorism; name the problem of antisemitism clearly, without excuses or disclaimers; cease permitting jew-hatred to persist under the guise of anti-zionism.”
the canadian press contributed to this report.
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