From the hills of Jerusalem, the heart of our people, the Council of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel extends a message of anguish and unbroken solidarity to the world, and especially to our brothers and sisters in Sydney.
The brutal terror attack, targeting innocent Jews celebrating Hanukkah, has broken the collective heart of our nation. We mourn the precious lives taken, including Rabbi Eli Schlanger z”l, whose selflessness was a testament to the life-affirming strength of our faith.
When darkness strikes one corner of the Jewish world, the shadows are felt in the heart of every single Jew globally. Your pain is deeply, personally our pain.
This was not a random act; it was a targeted assault on the very essence of Jewish life. We must declare with moral clarity: this was an act of hatred against Jews exercising their basic right to live without fear.
Yet, our response, drawn from the lesson of Hanukkah, is consistent with millennia of history: where others seek to impose darkness, the Jewish people respond by increasing the light.
We refuse to falter. We pray for the wounded to find refuah shlema (complete healing), and we stand with the entire Australian Jewish community in an unbreakable embrace.
The enduring spirit of Israel lives on. We will continue to light our candles proudly, choosing faith over fear, and affirming with eternal confidence: Am Yisrael Chai (The People of Israel Live).
This was a clear act of antisemitic hatred against those exercising their basic right to worship and live without fear.
Yet, we draw strength from Hanukkah: where others seek darkness, we increase the light. We refuse to falter.
We stand with the Australian community, affirming our enduring faith. The Jewish spirit lives on.
Am Yisrael Chai (The People of Israel Live)!