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Events have been held across the UK to remember the victims of the mass shooting that occurred during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia.
Police forces in England and Scotland have announced increased visibility within Jewish communities as celebrations for the religious holiday commence.
Authorities have confirmed that fifteen individuals, including a child, were killed in the Bondi shooting, which targeted members of the Jewish community.
On Sunday evening, approximately 100 people gathered outside the Australian High Commission in central London for a vigil.
Attendees were seen waving British and Israeli flags, with some holding signs bearing the message: “Stop the Hate”.
Rabbi Yisroel Lew of Marleybone, speaking at the vigil, lit a menorah and stated: “After hearing what happened this morning, the first thought was – how can we bring more light?
“Don’t be afraid and celebrate Hanukkah.”
Nearby in Trafalgar Square, a large menorah was illuminated to mark the first day of Hanukkah.
Hundreds also participated in Hanukkah events in north-west London on Sunday, featuring music, dancing, and a heightened police presence.
Among those present was Chanie Simon, an acquaintance of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was among those killed in the Sydney shooting. She described the 41-year-old victim as a “father in the prime of his life”.
“We are reeling in pain,” she told the BBC. “But we are going around and carrying on to make the world a bigger and better place, bringing acts of goodness, acts of light, because that’s what the world needs.
“It’s awful but we aren’t going to let terror stop us.”
Joseph Sassoon also spoke to the BBC, stating: “I’m saddened that Jewish people have to be afraid in this day and age.” He added: “Years after the Holocaust and Jews are still being murdered.”
Rabbi Eli, who was born in London and was a father of five, was remembered by his cousin, Rabbi Zalman Lewis, as a “caring, vivacious, energetic, outgoing guy who loved people.”
Speaking to the BBC earlier, he encouraged people to “spread light” by performing charitable acts in Rabbi Schlanger’s memory, referencing a recent sentiment expressed by the rabbi.
“Every human being on earth has a positive way to contribute to making the world a better place, and we just have to keep spreading light.
“The world is a positive place and we need to show that and I know Eli would be saying that.”
Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer, have lit a menorah in the window of Number 10.
Lady Starmer is Jewish, and Sir Keir has previously mentioned their tradition of marking the beginning of Shabbat on Friday nights.
In a social media post, the prime minister stated: “Our thoughts and prayers are with those murdered in the terrorist attack on Bondi Beach today, their loved ones and the whole Jewish community.
“Light will always win over darkness.”
Earlier, the UK’s Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) urged the police and government to protect Hanukkah celebrations, stating: “We must not let hatred extinguish the festival of light.”
The JLC expressed in a statement that it is “devastated and angered that in Sydney, Jews appear to have been targeted once again for being Jewish”.
“We know that such hatred also exists in this country, as we are still reeling from the attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur.”
Two people were killed in that attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.
Starmer called the Bondi attack “sickening” and noted that the government is collaborating with the Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish security organization, on the policing of Hanukkah events in the UK.
Police Scotland reported that it is conducting additional patrols around synagogues and other Jewish venues and is “actively communicating with faith leaders.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan stated that the Metropolitan Police would increase its visibility in Jewish communities ahead of Hanukkah events.
The police force stated: “At a time when London’s Jewish communities are coming together to begin the celebration of Hanukkah, we know this attack will be the cause of not just terrible upset but also significant heightened concern about safety.”
It added that “there is no information to suggest any link between the attack in Sydney and the threat level in London”.
King Charles expressed that he was “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack” at the Bondi Hanukah celebrations, and that his and Queen Camilla’s “hearts go out to everyone who has been affected so dreadfully”.
He added that the light of the Jewish festival “will always triumph over the darkness of such evil”.
The Prince and Princess of Wales also issued a statement, saying their “thoughts are with every Australian today”, and they “stand with the Jewish community in grief”.
Meanwhile, the UK’s chief rabbi said the Jewish community will “rebuild with tenacity”.
“As we kindle our first Chanukah lights this evening, we hold the victims of the unspeakable atrocity in Sydney in our hearts and in our prayers,” Sir Ephraim Mirvis said in a statement on X.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said he would be attending a Hanukkah event which “should be a celebration but instead our community is once again mourning”.
“I will be thinking of everyone in Australia and those around the world in the Jewish community who know this fear and loss. We stand with you.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it had offered its support to its Australian partners and was in touch with the government to discuss the UK response.
“The scourges of terrorism and antisemitism are shared, international challenges and need concerted and determined action to defeat them,” it added.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has advised any British people caught up in the shooting to contact the Sydney consulate for support.
Sixteen people have died after an attack targeting a Hanukkah event on the beach.
Mia Tretta was shot in the 2019 mass shooting at Saugus High School in California.
Aerial footage appears to show a gunman firing from a bridge in a nearby carpark.
Eleven people were killed in the shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach, as crowds attended an event to celebrate Hanukkah.
The identities of those killed or injured have not yet been released, but the university said all the victims were students.
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