Two gunmen attacked a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing at least 16 people in what Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of “evil, antisemitic terrorism.”
Georgia’s U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff released the following statement: “Alisha and I are heartbroken by the news from Australia, where innocent Jewish families were attacked celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. This brutal attack has shaken the Jewish community in Georgia and nationwide, but Jews refuse to be intimidated by cowardly antisemitic violence. Our prayers are with the families of those brutally murdered and all impacted by this heinous act. May their memories be a blessing.”
U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock said on NBC’s Meet the Press this morning that “we have to be very clear in condemning antisemitism.”
“We’re seeing a rise of antisemitism in our own country and across the globe,” Warnock said. “We have to condemn antisemitism, hatred, and violence wherever it rears its ugly head. And I certainly will continue to do that.”
As the Atlanta Jewish community prepared for public menorah lightings on Sunday evening, Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch urged people to attend in solidarity. “If Dunwoody isn’t home or close, I encourage you to find a public menorah lighting near you,” she wrote on social media.
One of the victims in Bondi Beach was a Chabad emissary. Chabad of Georgia released a statement that reads in part: “We are devastated by the terror attack at the Chabad Chanukah event in Sydney, Australia. An attack on the Jewish community in Sydney is an attack on Jews everywhere. Across Georgia, Chabad will be hosting numerous public menorah lightings and Chanukah celebrations. These lightings are a powerful statement of Jewish pride, faith, and resilience, illuminating our cities, towns, and public spaces with the enduring light of Chanukah. This is our moment to stand together, to comfort one another, and to reaffirm who we are.”
Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman of Chabad Intown in Atlanta said in a Sunday morning email, “The way to navigate this is not to negotiate with the darkness but to succeed at shining bright.”
Schusterman suggested bringing “peace loving, non-Jewish friends and neighbors to stand with us” at menorah lightings around metro Atlanta this week.
The post Georgia leaders react to antisemitic terror attack in Australia appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.
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