JERUSALEM – Senior Israeli leaders, diplomats, and community representatives gathered in Jerusalem on Sunday morning for a solemn and symbolic ceremony marking the lighting of the eighth Hanukkah candle in solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community, following the deadly terrorist attack in Sydney that claimed the lives of 15 Jews.
The ceremony was held at the National Institutions Building in Jerusalem’s Weizmann Hall, the historic site where Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, was sworn in. It was attended by the President of the State of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel, alongside Australia’s Acting Ambassador to Israel Lyndall Sachs and her deputy Dylan Letcher, philanthropist Sir Frank Lowy, former Israeli ambassador to Australia Mark Sofer, representatives of bereaved families, immigrants from Australia, and other distinguished guests.
The event was broadcast live to Australia, where more than 10,000 members of the Jewish community gathered at Bondi Beach, the site of the recent terrorist massacre, to light the final Hanukkah candle together with Jerusalem. During the ceremony in Israel, 15 memorial candles were lit in memory of the victims.
Representatives of the Chabad movement from the family of the late Rabbi Schlanger, a Chabad emissary murdered in the attack, participated in the ceremony, as did 10th-grade students from Keter Torah School, a community directly affected by the tragedy in which three fathers from the school community were killed.
The joint ceremony underscored the principle of mutual responsibility that underpins the relationship between Israel and Jewish communities worldwide. Speakers emphasized that the distance between Jerusalem and Sydney does not diminish the shared fate of the Jewish people or Israel’s commitment to stand with Diaspora communities in moments of crisis.
President Isaac Herzog described the ceremony as a direct message of unity and support.
“Tonight, on the eighth and final candle of Hanukkah, I want to say to the Jews of Australia: the people of Israel are with you,” Herzog said. “Despite thousands of miles between us, we feel your pain, we see your courage under fire, and we share your sense of shock and horror.”
Herzog expressed condolences to the families of the victims and good wishes for the recovery of those wounded. He also addressed the broader implications of the attack, warning that antisemitism has reached a critical point globally.
“The rise in Jew hatred across the world is a global emergency,” Herzog said. “The battle against antisemitism must be everyone’s battle. This is an urgent call to action to prevent the next catastrophe.”
World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel framed the Sydney massacre as a warning far beyond Australia.
“This was not a local event,” Hagoel said. “Antisemitism does not begin with murder. It begins with incitement, with turning a blind eye, and with silence.” He stressed that condemnations alone are insufficient, calling for accountability and concrete measures to protect Jewish communities worldwide.
“The responsibility to protect Jewish communities everywhere is a moral test for the governments of the free world,” Hagoel said, adding that the World Zionist Organization would continue to stand with Jewish communities wherever they face persecution.
Jeremy Leibler, President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, stated the ceremony reflected the unbreakable bond between Israel and Jewish communities abroad.
“When Jews in Australia were attacked on the first night of Hanukkah, Israel stood by their side,” Leibler said. “This ceremony is a powerful expression of that solidarity.”
As Hanukkah concluded, the ceremony in Jerusalem and the gathering in Sydney served as a shared declaration of resilience, unity, and resolve, reaffirming Israel’s role as the anchor of the Jewish people and a source of strength for communities facing rising antisemitism around the world.
