Hanukkah

Australia failed the test on the night of the attack. It is now failing again in daylight. An internal review is not accountability. It is concealment dressed up as governance.

Antisemitism was dismissed as rhetoric. Now Jews are being violently targeted because the world pretended that words don’t matter.

A child was seen extinguishing candles in Ramle; similar incidents have been reported in Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh.

Jews heading to a Hanukkah candle lighting in Istanbul were attacked amid protests and anti Israel slogans, according to footage from the scene.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called on Jews in Europe, Australia, and North America to make aliyah, citing rising antisemitism worldwide during a Hanukkah event in Rishon Lezion.

At the Light Over Darkness: Night of Unity commemoration, each candle was lit by a representative of those who brought light into the world at a dark time.

President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal joined Australians living in Israel, visiting Australians, bereaved relatives, Chabad rabbis, and senior officials for a memorial ceremony in Jerusalem.

With a record deployment of emissaries, the Jewish Agency reinforces Jewish identity, communal resilience, and global solidarity at a critical moment.

Sydney should not be used to shut down legitimate criticism of Israel. But it should end the pretense that antisemitic intimidation, when cloaked in politics, deserves a pass.

The words of the 'Al hanissim' ('for the miracles') prayer that we recited – 'The few against the many… in those days [137-134 BCE] and at this time [Hanukkah]' – held an unmistakable meaning for us.