Over the course of this past week, the more I read about what happened at Bondi Beach and what is happening around the world, the more horrific did I understand our situation to be. Evil confronts us on every side.
But we will not let it triumph.
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I learned on Wednesday that only two police officers had been assigned to the Bondi Beach celebrations, where there were going to be thousands of Jews present. Only two police officers after all the warnings the Australian government had received, including from the Mossad.
There seemed something so profoundly and perversely negligent and uncaring about this that I found it difficult to breathe.
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But I rejoiced with family over the course of Chanukah. And now as the last day of this festival of lights has drawn to a close, I share a two-part perspective.
I quote, first, from a piece by Michael Freund that appeared in the JPost “In Jerusalem” section on Friday (emphasis added).
This past Shabbat the haftarah [a selection from the prophets read after the Torah reading] was from Zechariah (2:14-4:7). With regard to this, Freund wrote: “It is a vision saturated with light and hope, yet forged in a time of vulnerability and danger. And that is precisely why it speaks so directly to our moment, especially in the wake of the recent antisemitic terror attack in Sydney, Australia.
“Zechariah prophesied to a battered Jewish people during the return from Babylonian exile. Jerusalem lay in ruins, the Temple was only beginning to be rebuilt, and the Jewish community was small, exposed, and surrounded by hostile forces. Into this fragile reality, the prophet delivers a message that has echoed down through the centuries:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My spirit says the Lord of Hosts’ (Zechariah 4:6).
“These words are a declaration of faith and a clear-cut explanation of Jewish survival. The haftarah centers on the vision of the menorah, golden and radiant. It is an image of uninterrupted light, a symbol of Jewish continuity that does not depend on political strength, military advantage, or numerical superiority. Instead, it draws sustenance from something deeper and more enduring: divine purpose and spiritual resilience.
“Hanukkah itself was born from this tension. The Maccabees were outnumbered and outmatched by the Seleucid Greeks, yet they refused to surrender their identity. The miracle was not only the military victory but the insistence on lighting the menorah even when there seemed to be no reason to believe the flame would last. That same insistence has defined Jewish history ever since.
“Which brings us, painfully, to Sydney…
“The terrorist attack in Sydney was not merely a heinous act of violence; it was a message. A warning that Jews, anywhere, are once again being targeted simply for existing.
“…antisemitism is reasserting itself with frightening confidence. It dresses itself up as ‘anti-Zionism,’ cloaks itself in the language of human rights, or explodes into raw, murderous rage. But at its core, it is the same ancient hatred Zechariah’s generation knew all too well.
“However, the haftarah refuses to let us define ourselves by fear. “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst” (Zechariah 2:14).
“The prophet does not deny the danger. He transcends it. Zechariah reminds us that Jewish destiny is not dictated by the mobs that hate us or the terrorists who seek to silence us. It is shaped by our refusal to extinguish the flame.
“The menorah of the prophet’s vision burns steadily, not because the world permits it but because the Jewish people insist upon it. This is not passivity. It is defiance of the highest order…
“The flames lit on Hanukkah are small, fragile, and easily extinguished – yet they endure because they are not fueled by might or power but by spirit. By memory. By faith. By an unbroken chain of courage stretching from the Maccabees to the Jews of our day who refuse to be intimidated.
“…The Jewish people do not survive because the world protects us. We survive because we cling to our light, the light of our heritage, nourishing it and protecting it.
“And no terror attack – no matter how brutal – will ever succeed in putting it out.”
https://www.jpost.com/judaism/torah-portion/article-880672
Wikitia
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Let us turn, then, to a stunning example of a Jew – a Bondi survivor – who understands this message and will not turn off her menorah.
Facebook Stand with US
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DSX-0TUDq1J/
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But there is another aspect, as well, to our current struggle. The Jewish People are eternal. We will survive. But how much we suffer depends in some measure on matters that are not in our hands.
Most of you are likely familiar with this quote, attributed to Edmund Burke.
“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
Laphamsquarterly
Whether these wise words actually originated with him or someone else is irrelevant. They are in any event a clarion call for action.
There is no turning away from the reality: At the heart of the world-wide tsunami of antisemitism are radical Islamists. Jews are their target because it is Jews, and most specifically Israelis, who understand their agenda of repressive world domination and are prepared to stand against it.
Iran’s oft-stated goal is the total elimination of Israel; Hamas’s massacre on October 7 was motivated by this very same goal. The terrorists who attacked on Bondi Beach had Islamic State connections and had traveled abroad to receive military training.
This is truly an historical moment in which light faces darkness.
Standing with the Islamists are those who do not fully embrace Islamism ideologically but are at their heart antisemites. And those who espouse distorted far-left progressive notions.
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But what of the minions of basically decent individuals who shake their heads momentarily and then turn away, imagining that what is going on does not concern them? Those who are too busy with their own lives to pay attention? Those who choose not to be involved because it feels safer?
And what of those in official positions who find it easier not to take a stand against antisemitism? They may not be antisemites themselves (although of course they may). They may be trying to duck their heads and let matters pass or bowing to progressive pressure emanating from their constituency.
Or they may simply not be addressing the situation with sufficient gravity.
How did it happen that after all the warnings sent to Australia by Israel, only two policemen were sent out to patrol when thousands of Jews gathered on Bondi Beach?
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I wrote above about a tsunami of antisemitism. But what I see is that a bridge has been crossed: there is a moral imperative now that demands a tsunami of outcry and action against antisemitism.
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There were instances of bravery in the course of the attack on Bondi Beach.
One is Ahmed Al Ahmed, who disarmed one of the Bondi terrorists and was subsequently shot in the shoulder and arm.
See the video: https://www.facebook.com/reel/872575798462261
He acted because he was not prepared to stand by and watch people die; in spite of the pain of his injuries, he says he would do it again.
Al Ahmed, 43, is an Australian of Syrian origins and a Muslim. He is the father of two and owns a fruit store.
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And then there is Gefen Biton, an Israeli who came to Australia a few years ago. He ran towards Al Ahmed to be of assistance and was shot three times. He is in a coma.
Courtesy
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In Amsterdam on Wednesday, thousands of Christians gathered from across the county to rally against antisemitism and in support of Israel. The event was organized by Christians for Israel (CvI); a group known as “Working wholeheartedly for Israel” facilitated attendance from outside of Amsterdam.
Chris Soffer, one of the speakers, said: “Global intifada is being implemented. We must never accept this as normal. Not in Sydney, not in Amsterdam, not anywhere.”
https://www.jns.org/thousands-rally-against-jew-hate-at-chanukah-event-in-amsterdam/
Amen! A heartening beginning. Let us hear of this sort of outcry multiplied a thousand-fold.
André Dorst/Christenen voor Israel
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“The Australian state of New South Wales is planning to ban ‘Globalize the intifada’ chants, according to a Saturday BBC report, amid a crackdown on ‘hateful’ rhetoric and slogans in the wake of Sunday’s devastating terror attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah event.” Bondi Beach is in New South Wales.
A mere beginning of what must be done across the Western world. Too often antisemitic calls have been defended as “free speech.”
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And too often antisemitic incidents are downplayed or ignored. What must be clearly understood is that when small incidents are ignored a message is sent that it is safe to proceed further. Individuals who commit antisemitic acts proscribed by law must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Sometimes a Jew is made to be the “cause” of group violence. This is a particularly infuriating syndrome. I have just read about an incident in Australia in which a Jew who brought out an Israeli flag was forced by police to put it away so as to avoid “inflaming” a crowd that had gathered. Obviously this was easier for the police than protecting the rights of the Jew.
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Please, pray for all of Am Yisrael: for the wisdom and courage of our leaders, the strength of our people, and an awakening of the Western world to the horrors of radical Islam.
©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
