European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared that “there can be no place for the poison of antisemitism” as she lit a Chanukiah in Brussels on Wednesday to mark the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, Euronews reported.

Von der Leyen condemned what she described as a resurgence of the “old evil” across Europe, pointing to swastikas painted on Jewish homes, vandalized synagogues, and Jewish children kept inside schools out of fear for their safety.

“Today, too many Jews do not feel safe to light a Chanukiah in the window. Or wear a kippah in public. Or a Star of David around their necks. Many must walk past armed guards to attend the synagogue and worry about sending their children to school. The night around us has indeed grown dark,” she said.

The Commission president stressed a message of hope, “One of the teachings of Hanukkah is that you can either curse the dark or light a candle. We are going for the latter.” She spoke as she outlined the EU’s recently adopted “No place for hate in Europe” action plan, aimed at combating intolerance with a focus on antisemitism.

The plan, adopted last week, calls on all Europeans “to stand up against hatred and speak up for tolerance and respect.”

Von der Leyen emphasized the need to “protect places of worship - starting with synagogues,” saying, “Because no one should be afraid to profess their own faith. We will fight hate speech online. Because it is never okay to use faith as a slur, neither in the streets nor on the internet.”

Her remarks follow the release of a report by the Anti-Defamation League’s J7 Task Force, which highlighted a sharp increase in violent antisemitic incidents across countries with large Jewish populations, including Germany, France, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and Argentina.

Von der Leyen’s call came just three days after the deadly terrorist attack at a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, where 15 people were murdered.

Australian police announced Wednesday that one of the terrorists, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act.

Akram was arrested at the scene following a shootout that killed his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who carried out the attack with him.