Rabbi condemns Australia’s response to Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting

A senior New York rabbi condemned Australia’s “inaction” after a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach was shattered by a mass shooting that left 40 people injured and at least 15 killed, including two prominent rabbis.

Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, of Chabad-Lubavitch’s global headquarters in New York City, said the attack, carried out by a father and son, reflects a growing climate of anti-Semitism. In Australia Which the authorities were unable to confront.

“In addition to Rabbi Eli Schlanger, we have now learned that Chabad Rabbi Yaakov Levitan has died from his injuries,” Krensky told Fox News Digital. “May his memory be a blessing as well.”

He added: “Jewish people all over the world now feel uncomfortable, but they are united.” “Every incremental escalation of anti-Semitic language that is tolerated has an immediate, and now, deadly consequence, and must not continue unchecked.”

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Police cordon off an area on Bondi Beach after a terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, on December 14, 2025. (Mark Baker/AP Photo)

“Australian authorities need to act quickly and eliminate actions and rhetoric that normalize anti-Semitism,” Kerensky added.

The tragic mass shooting occurred on December 14, when two gunmen opened fire on a large car “Hanukkah by the Sea” event. Close to Campbell Parade on Bondi Beach.

The attack, which police are reportedly investigating as a terrorist incident, involved improvised explosive devices found in a suspect’s car, as previously reported. Fox News Digital.

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A member of the Jewish community reacts as he walks with police towards the scene of the Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney on December 14, 2025. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)

The older assailant was killed instantly, and his son was detained in critical condition.

Krinsky, who was also in Melbourne in July when an arson attack occurred on a synagogue in Melbourne’s east, said he had already seen the growing “concern” in Australia firsthand.

He said: “I witnessed first-hand the anxiety and concern felt by many within the Australian Jewish community amid the rise in anti-Semitic incitement, and their feeling that the authorities’ response was insufficient.”

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Rabbi Dovid Gutnick walks near damage to the exterior of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne, Saturday, July 5, 2025, after someone set fire to the door. (Photo by James Ross/AAP via AP)

“At that point, there was a sense that the Jewish community in Australia was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with what they felt was a lack of a strong enough response to these actions.”

Schlanger, 41, who was one of the first dead victims to be identified, was an assistant rabbi at the church. Chabad Bondi And beach event organizer.

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Emergency workers carry a person on a stretcher after a shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, December 14, 2025. (Mark Baker/AP Photo)

“While each Chabad center operates independently, it operates under the umbrella of our global organization,” Krinsky explained. “There are no words to express the pain and heartbreak caused by this painful tragedy.”

He added, “Rabbi Schlanger was among the victims of this barbarism.” “He had Deep relations with the United States “He studied here, he has family here, and even though the attack happened far away, this Hanukkah we feel it closer than ever.”

“He was younger than me, and we attended the same institutions, but at different times,” Kerensky noted. “He dedicated his life to living in communities around the world, far from home, inspired by the Rebbe’s teachings and vision.

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Armed police work at the scene after a shooting incident on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025. Australian police said two people were arrested after reports of several gunshots on December 14 at Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach, and urged the public to take shelter. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)

Schlanger, who was born in the United Kingdom, married Chaya, the daughter of prominent Australian rabbi Yoram Ullman.

“After their marriage, about 18 years ago, they moved to Sydney to help grow the community and revive the beauty and spirit of Jewish tradition to many in the Sydney Jewish community,” Krinsky explained. “He was going to find somewhere to move to do the work he wanted to devote his life to.”

And as the world responded, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack and described it as an “act of pure evil,” according to The Guardian news agency.

“We feel very sad for the families who were celebrating the Festival of Light at Bondi Beach,” Krinsky said.

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A health worker moves a stretcher after a shooting incident on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025. Australian police said two people were in custody after reports of multiple gunshots on December 14 at Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach, and urged the public to take shelter. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

“But every Chabad community around the world is already doing what we do best: spreading more light, promoting Jewish pride and respect, and increasing acts of kindness and kindness.”

“The perpetrator may have wanted to turn off the Hanukkah lights in Sydney, but they will shine brighter across Australia and around the world.”

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statement Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in New York said: “Let’s be clear: This was a dastardly act of terrorism — an attack on community, on goodness, and on light itself. It reflects a climate in which hatred of Jews was allowed to grow and turn violent. This reality must be faced.”

“We will honor the lives lost by promoting them Jewish practicePride and vision. We hope that their light will shine from this sadness, and their memory will be a blessing to us all.”