‘Scared but resilient:’ Hanukkah celebrations go ahead despite deadly attack abroad

TORONTO – Members of Canada’s Jewish community expressed anger and resolve on Sunday ahead of planned holiday events in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia.

Levi Gansburg, the rabbi at Chabad on Bayview in Toronto, said his synagogue would “choose light over darkness” and would move forward with its planned Hannukah celebrations this week despite the devastation abroad. 

At least 15 people were killed and at least 38 were wounded at a Hanukkah event on Bondi Beach in Australia after two gunmen opened fire on the crowd. Jewish officials identified one of the dead as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and one of the celebration’s organizers. 

One attacker was taken into custody and the other was fatally shot by police. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the shooting “an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation.”

Gansburg said he was in a state of shock and mourning when he first heard the news of the shooting. He said he knew Schlanger as the two studied together in the rabbinical seminary.

“My memories of him is that he was a man of kindness, of warmth, of love,” Gansburg said in an interview. “He was vivacious, (and) just literally dedicated his life to helping others strictly with goodness and kindness.”

That shock was numbed, however, by a spate of antisemitic attacks and vandalism that have rocked the GTA since Oct. 7, 2023. Gansburg said his daughter’s school was shot at three times last year, and a synagogue down the road from him — the Kehillat Shaarei Torah synagogue — has been vandalized 10 times in the last year and a half. 

For Joe Kanofsky, the rabbi at the Kehillat Shaarei Torah, the attacks in Australia were another unneeded reminder of hatred and violence directed toward the Jewish community. 

“I and others are horrified and appalled by this kind of violence,” Kanofsky said.

Kanofsky said Hanukkah celebrations at his synagogue would also proceed as planned this week. Security will be on-site throughout celebrations, although Kanofsky said that has been the case since 2018 after a gunman killed 11 worshippers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. 

Gansburg and Kanofsky said they have both been in touch with Toronto police requesting added measures to ensure the community’s safety. Toronto police confirmed in a statement the force is closely monitoring the events in Australia and said people could expect to see “increased police presence in the Jewish community as a proactive measure to ensure the safety and security of the community.”

In the Montreal area, Rabbi Lisa Grushcow, of the Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, said the timing of the attack was likely an intentional message designed 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 said.

The response, she said, is to not be deterred from marking the holiday, while working with police and security organizations to make sure people are safe at gatherings and candle-lighting ceremonies.

“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.”

In Vancouver, Dan Moskovitz said the menorah lighting ceremony was still set to take place at Temple Sholom, where he is the senior rabbi. Though his synagogue always has security outside, he said he spent his morning fielding questions from concerned parents about security precautions after learning of the attack in Australia. 

“We are scared but resilient,” Moskovitz said in an interview. “It causes everyone to think twice about what it means to be a Jew in Canada.”

The constant security presence at Temple Sholom isn’t just for show, Moskovitz said, as Vancouver has also experienced antisemitic violence and intimidation in recent years. 

In June 2024, the Schara Tzedeck synagogue had its front door set on fire in what police described as an act of arson. Moskovitz said there have also been swastikas drawn on walls at his children’s school. He also alleged his children have been confronted with violence and hate speech while at school. 

But Moskovitz also emphasized the importance of continuing to celebrate Hanukkah because the holiday celebrates religious freedom and diversity.

“The light that was lit during Hanukkah was a light of religious freedom, a light of identity. That light still needs to shine brightly,” he said. “If it is not safe for Jews to light their lamps in society, it’s not safe for anyone.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking briefly at a menorah lighting ceremony in Ottawa on Sunday, offered his support for the Jewish community in the wake of the shooting.

“I will always be with you, and I will not rest until we move from protection to true thriving,” Carney said, adding that the day had become both a commemoration as well as a celebration.

Montreal police said in a statement the force is increasing its “vigilance and visibility” in areas where Hanukkah celebrations are taking place. 

National Jewish groups also condemned the attack. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs CEO Noah Shack said in a statement his group was “devastated by the horrifying scenes in Sydney” and that the group stands in solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community. 

Shack also said the shooting in Australia is another example of the “unchecked rise of violent antisemitic extremism.” He called on all levels of government to take the necessary steps to keep the Jewish community safe. 

“Canada is not immune,” Shack wrote. “We need urgent action from governments and law enforcement to keep all of us safe.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2025.

— with files from Morgan Lowrie in Montreal, Jim Bronskill in Ottawa and The Associated Press