Pesach is coming, as well as more bloodshed?
15 victims. 15 Jews, gunned down at a Hanukkah party on Bondi Beach, Sydney. 15 people went out to enjoy themselves and never came back.
I don’t know the identity of the gunmen, but it is looking increasingly likely these were Islamist terrorists. If that is the case, it would explain why the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has so far (early hours Monday morning 15 December) failed to mention it. A friend of mine who lives in Sydney has suggested that if Mr Albanese did point out the identity of the perpetrators then he might lose the next election.
What I can say is that there is a pattern emerging here. It is this. A Western leader recognises Palestine. Put from your mind that it is pretty much impossible to recognise a country which not only doesn’t exist but doesn’t even fulfil the criteria necessary for a state to be recognised as such. Post recognition, the intensity of hatred directed at Israel increases as does the level of antisemitism. Sometime later the Jews are faced with increased levels of discrimination and in some cases, violence. Remember, the Palestinians in this scenario can do no wrong. It is all the fault of Israel.
We have all seen the violence in its various forms and after yesterday’s atrocity at Bondi Beach, I have a nasty feeling when it is going to strike next. Stop for a moment and consider when this latest wave of hatred started. October 7 2023, on the festival of Simchat Torah. Now, consider the attack in Manchester on 2 October 2025. Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Now Bondi Beach, 14 December 2025. Hanukkah.
It is easy to say that it is a coincidence to claim that these attacks all took place on a festival. I don’t believe so. For as long as the Western governments fail to see how dangerous their actions have been in indulging the Islamists with recognition, two tier policing and hounding Israel, these attacks against the Jews will continue. Since the prospects of killing as many Jews as possible occurs when they congregate, then Pesach next year is likely to be the subject of another attack.
There is also a more substantial and darker purpose behind the attacks on festivals. We all rightly commemorated the attack on 7 October in Israel and we should continue to do so. The result though is that more and more festivals will be remembered not for their usual purpose but for the deaths that occurred at that time. Think about it. On a micro level we all have friends – Jewish and not Jewish who sometimes have unhappy memories of events that should have been joyous. The death of a father on his daughter’s birthday, the passing away of a brother on Christmas day, a mother dying on first night of Pesach.
The same is happening with our festivals so that we are compelled to both celebrate the holiday and mourn at the same time. I am certain that this is no coincidence. Turn each festival into a time for mourning and the joy that should be there might not be removed, but it is diminished. So what do we do? Mourn the departed certainly, then celebrate the festival in question with greater enthusiasm, embrace the message that comes with it, and turn sorrow into joy. I now have two sweatshirts which say ‘we will dance again’, one of which I wore to shul this Simchat Torah just gone. It went down well with others in the congregation including the rabbi. It was a small act of defiance, a statement which meant I could do deal with two sets of emotions at the same time.
As for Pesach 2026, we can only be even more vigilant and careful. Now we know what is likely to come, we can prepare for it. I do hope I am wrong, but I am fearful I am not.
The message now though has to be doubling down on our celebrations. Get a second or third chanukiah, light the candles in them, put them in the window and show the world we not only celebrate the festival of light, but also remember and mourn our lost brothers and sisters. May their memory be a blessing, and keep those candles going, they deserve no less.
