Heightened Jewish Security Measures Following Deadly Hanukkah Attack: Community Responds with Resilience

At least 15 individuals perished in Sunday's attack in Sydney, Australia.

Prominent Jewish organizations across the United States are calling for all Jewish institutions to enhance security protocols at public gatherings—including implementing stricter access controls—following the deadly mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration at a popular Australian beach.

These organizations—including three specializing in security matters—advised that upcoming Jewish public events should only be accessible to individuals who have undergone screening after pre-registration.

"Only provide location details, timing, and other information upon confirmed registration," stated the advisory from these groups. "Implement access control measures (locks and entrance procedures) to ensure only known, confirmed registrants/attendees can enter the facility/event."

While this urgent call for increased vigilance circulates, several rabbis have indicated their synagogues will proceed with large-scale celebrations, intending to demonstrate resilience. This mass shooting serves as another reminder of the Jewish community's ongoing reality of incorporating security considerations into religious practices.

"This week, let us embrace Jewish joy, communal strength, and courageous hope," read a message from Temple Beth Sholom, one of Miami area's largest synagogues. "We invite every member of our family... to join us this week as we celebrate Chanukah. Let us come together to share the warmth of the candles and reaffirm our unbreakable connection."

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Congregation, who survived the 2018 antisemitic shooting that claimed 11 worshippers at his synagogue, expressed similar sentiments.

"Hanukkah should be a time of light, celebrating our people's resilience," Myers stated. "Confronting antisemitism and violence, my prayer is that we don't allow fear to triumph but instead embrace our Jewishness and practice our tradition proudly."

The Sunday attack, which claimed at least 15 lives, has intensified criticism that Australian authorities weren't doing enough to address rising antisemitic crimes. On Monday, Australian leadership pledged to overhaul existing gun control legislation following the targeted attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach.

Among the victims was Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and an organizer of the family Hanukkah celebration, according to Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement conducting global outreach known for public menorah lightings.

Just one year earlier, Chabad reports that Schlanger had encouraged fellow Jews to remain undaunted by increasing antisemitism, saying, "Be more Jewish, act more Jewish and appear more Jewish."

Chabad.org indicated that Chabad centers worldwide are proceeding with thousands of planned public menorah lightings and community Hanukkah celebrations "while implementing enhanced security measures—urging the Jewish community to counter hatred with greater light and goodness while mourning those lost and wounded in Sydney."

Rabbi Chaim Landa of Chabad of Greater St. Louis emphasized that the Sydney shooting reinforced the importance of these public celebrations. His organization proceeded with its scheduled Sunday night menorah lighting near the Gateway Arch, though with increased police presence. He believes Schlanger would have wanted this approach.

"There are two components here. There's ensuring actual safety, and there's making sure people feel safe. We aim for both," said Landa, who estimates nearly 300 people attended the outdoor event despite below-freezing temperatures.

"People wanted to gather and be together. It's vital that they feel they can do so, and that's what we want to guarantee."

In remarks delivered after the Australia attack, the president of North America's largest branch of Judaism elaborated on the mixture of concern and determination pervading the Jewish community.

"We're considering security issues and how to live openly yet safely as Jews—asking questions that may be newer to us but would have been all too familiar to generations of our ancestors," said Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judaism.

"We must address these difficult questions. We need to be prudent about security and protecting ourselves and fellow Jews—whether inside synagogue walls or walking down streets wearing kippahs," he added. "But the defiant Maccabee spirit is also central to the Hanukkah narrative. Our Jewish community refuses to hide. We are proud Jews and will remain so, even as we prioritize community security."

Jacobs referenced the Jewish tradition of placing Hanukkah menorahs in windows for public visibility.

"However, the Babylonian Talmud teaches that during dangerous times, we refrain from this practice," Jacobs noted. "We have been experiencing increasing danger for several years now. And for too many Jews, displaying a menorah in the window has become too risky."

Alon Shalev, research fellow at Jerusalem's Shalom Hartman Institute, argued that following the attack, Jews should become more assertive in their public presence.

"When Jews face attacks for being visibly Jewish, the impulse to retreat is understandable—but it's precisely the wrong response," he told The Associated Press via email.

"Jewish safety in democratic societies depends on open, shared civic affirmation, supported by political and community leaders and fellow citizens, not on withdrawal behind closed doors," he added. "Stepping into the public square and normalizing Jewish presence is how we defend ourselves."