There are certain places in the world that will forever be associated with stunning acts of violence.
On Sunday, another pin was placed in that map.
At least 15 people were killed when gunfire ripped across Australia’s Bondi Beach, where people gathered to celebrate the start of Hanukkah, the Jewish celebration of miracles and light.
There is nothing less miraculous. There is nothing darker.
Pittsburgh knows.
Pittsburgh’s Jewish community was devastated by the 2018 shooting in which an antisemitic gunman murdered 11 people across three congregations worshipping in a Squirrel Hill synagogue. It remains the deadliest act of antisemitism in America.
To see another explosion of such brutal hatred on the first day of Hanukkah can bring us back to that dark place.
It comes as antisemitism has been rising. Australia has seen thousands of attacks over the two years of the Israel-Hamas war. The FBI reports 68% of religious hate crimes in the U.S. in 2023 were directed at Jews; that was a 63% increase.
And despite the “Pittsburgh Strong” message that reigned in the aftermath of the synagogue shooting, the Steel City’s antisemitic attacks are also on the rise. So far, there have been 304 incidents in 2025. In 2021, the total was 82; in 2017, it was 27.
That means in just eight years, anti-Jewish actions in Pittsburgh have increased more than tenfold.
It cannot continue. We cannot continue to march toward this deadly precipice. We cannot allow our neighbors — those next door and those across the globe — to face this without standing up.
Perhaps the menorah can be a model for what is needed. This very specific candelabra holds nine candles. Eight sit on the same level, banding together. They represent each night of the holiday and each day of the miracle in which one day’s oil stretched to last. Above them sits the shamash candle, the helper that lights the way for the others.
Violence is clouding our world like thick smoke, choking and blinding.
We need to hold fast to those beside us, creating a miracle where we find the faith in each other to move forward. We need to follow the light that moves us away from ugly, violent, hateful actions and rhetoric.
The celebration of Hanukkah is the sharing of the flame, with each night sparking another wick as the memory of the miracle spreads.
The same needs to happen as a pushback against antisemitism, until all that remains is the light.