Menorah lit in 'days of darkness' as Winnipeg Jews mark Hanukkah in wake of Sydney shooting

In the wake of a lifelessly assail at a feast of dedication case that claimed the lives of 15 people in Australia, Rob Williams was adamant about attending a Winnipeg Jewish centre to mark the same holiday.

"Stuff like this has never stopped us in the past … we will always see the light through evil."

Williams was among at least 100 people who gathered for prayers at the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Learning Centre in Winnipeg on Sunday to light the first candle of the menorah and celebrate Hanukkah. 

The start of this year's eight-day Jewish festival of lights was overshadowed by Sunday's deadly shooting in Sydney. Two gunmen opened fire in the city's Bondi Beach as hundreds gathered for Hanukkah. 

Among the 15 who died were a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor. Another 38 people are in hospital. One of the gunmen was also killed in a shootout with police.

The incident has been called an act of antisemitic terrorism by Australia's prime minister.

Police said the shooters were a 50-year-old man and his 24-year-old son. The older man is dead and the son, who was wounded, is in a coma.

Williams, who used to live in Melbourne, has not heard of any loved ones or friends injured in the attack, but said the Jewish community in Australia is tightknit and it will only a matter of time before he knows of a victim.

"It's tough to be away," he said. "It was just an awful lot to see. You read it over and over thinking, like this can't be real." 

Before the attack, Williams had already planned to mark the start of Hanukkah at a public event. But after what happened in Sydney, lighting the menorah with other Jews was even more significant to him. 

"I've never felt unsafe the two years I've been in Winnipeg, but even today I was like, we can't just be home and light candles just hidden in the corner," he said. "Coming together, showing that strength and feeling that we can actually unite in strength, I think that's so important."

The Hanukka event in Winnipeg was organized by Chabad, the same Orthodox Jewish movement behind Sydney's gathering. Chabad runs outreach around the world and sponsors public events during major Jewish holidays

Hanukkah is a celebration of how light overcomes darkness, a message Rabbi Boruch Heidingsfeld, who helped put together the menorah lighting in Winnipeg, said the Jewish community needs to focus on in the wake of this tragedy.

"For thousands of years there have been people that have tried to put out the light of, and joy of, Hanukkah. It has never won and it never will," he said.

"We're always going to be there coming back stronger."

Security ahead of the Winnipeg event was enhanced, just to be sure, Heidingsfeld said. 

At least two Winnipeg police cruisers were seen outside the building. The police service posted on social media that it would increase patrols around cultural centres, places of worship, schools and synagogues during Hanukkah. 

Inside the building, the main room was filled with families and children running around, including Daniel Hudobin. 

"This is a place like home," he said. 

Roman Hudobin, his father, said it was important his children came to the Hanukkah event. 

While there were mixed emotions on Sunday, Roman wants his children to grow proud of their Jewish heritage and to understand the importance of showing up for their community during difficult times.

"This is the main point of the holiday," he said. "It's spreading the light in the days of darkness."

Other synagogues in Manitoba also planned to go ahead with their Hanukkah events, including at the Congregation Etz Chayim in Winnipeg. 

The celebration in the coming days won't come without grief but Rose said it is incumbent on all Jews to come together in community and honour the holiday.

"In times of sorrow that's what we do as a Jewish community." 

While the celebrations at his synagogue will go on, and there's work underway to make the worship space more secure, the Sydney attack has left Rose worried. 

"Up until two years ago, I was not somebody who felt constantly under attack. More and more, since Oct. 7, 2023, I feel like I'm constantly wondering to myself out loud and with others whether this is really a safe environment any longer," he said.

A Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed nearly 1,200 people and took 251 hostages and prompted the war in Gaza.

Rose takes comfort in listening to members outside the Jewish community express concern over the well-being of Jews. But he wished, when it came to some politicians or dignitaries, the support didn't only come through social media.

"At this particular time when we feel so vulnerable and so concerned … having those statements in person, face-to-face, really goes much further," he said.

Reporter

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