Western Cities Boost Hanukkah Security After Antisemitic Massacre in Australia
by Dion J. Pierre
Police officers gather at the scene of a shooting incident targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, Dec. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Izhar Khan
Major cities across the Western world are buttressing security around synagogues and Hanukkah events following an antisemitic massacre at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia over the weekend which claimed the lives of at least 15 people, including a child and a Holocaust survivor, who were attending a celebration of the start of the Jewish holiday.
Police officials said that a father and son opened fire on Jews celebrating the start of Hanukkah, hospitalizing dozens of people in addition to those who were murdered. Investigators told Australian media that they identified the mass shooters as Sajid Akram, 50, who was killed at the scene, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, who was in critical condition in a hospital. The younger suspect reportedly came to the attention of Australia’s domestic intelligence agency in 2019 for his ties to a Sydney-based cell of the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group.
Following the tragedy, several cities have decided to ramp up their security around Jewish sites as Jews celebrate the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah this week.
“At this time, there is no known nexus to New York City, and we are not tracking any specific, credible threats related to Hanukkah events here,” New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch posted on social media. “Out of an abundance of caution, the NYPD has significantly increased security around Hanukkah celebrations, menorah lightings, and Jewish houses of worship across all five boroughs.”
Tisch, who noted that the NYPD has been in “continuous contact with our law enforcement partners in Australia,” explained that “New Yorkers will see an enhanced uniformed presence, specialized patrols, counterterrorism resources, and additional protective measures deployed where appropriate. We are actively following up on tips, leads, and intelligence, and marshalling all available resources to keep New Yorkers safe.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams added that residents will see an extra law enforcement presence to protect Hanukkah events.
“We will continue to ensure the Jewish community can celebrate the holiday in safety — including at public Menorah lightings across the city. Let us pray for the injured and stand together against hatred,” he said on X. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are surging our police presence, and our teams will be visible at menorah lightings and synagogues across the city. We will not let what happened in Sydney happen here.”
In Germany, local law enforcement was taking similar precautions.
“Even though there are currently no concrete indications of a threat to Berlin following the alleged attack in Australia, we remain vigilant and alert,” the Berlin Police said in a statement on Sunday. “The Berlin Police is in close exchange with the security authorities at the federal and state levels and continuously adjusts its measures to the situation. The comprehensive protection of the Hanukkah event this evening at [Brandenburg Gate] has been planned for some time.”
The Berlin Police continued, “In light of the events in Sydney, we will intensify our measures once again and be present there with a reinforced deployment of forces.”
In France, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez also announced enhanced security measures around Jewish places of worship amid “the prevalence of the terrorist threat,” stressing the need for “extreme vigilance.” Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country “shares the pain of the Australian people and will continue to fight without weakness against antisemitic hatred that bruises us all, wherever it strikes.”
London’s Metropolitan Police similarly said it had increased security but did not elaborate.
“While there is no information to suggest any link between the attack in Sydney and the threat level in London, this morning we are stepping up our police presence, carrying out additional community patrols and engaging with the Jewish community to understand what more we can do in the coming hours and days,” it said in a statement.
Polish police also moved to boost the presence of law enforcement in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack.
“Due to the geopolitical situation and the attack in Sydney, we are strengthening preventive measures around diplomatic missions and places of worship,” a press officer for Poland’s National Police Headquarters told Reuters, explaining this meant “intensified preventive measures in the area of diplomatic and consular missions, religious sites and other institutions related to Israel and Palestine.”
Armed security was doubled at Warsaw’s main synagogue for an event on Sunday evening, when Hanukkah began.
Antisemitism has spiked globally, including in Australia, since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel. This has included acts of terrorism such as the attack on a UK synagogue on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur in October.
Before that, two Israeli diplomats about to become engaged were gunned down in Washington, DC in May. Less than two weeks later, a lone terrorist attacked a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado, hurling Molotov cocktails into the crowd while yelling “Free Palestine.” In that incident, the perpetrator injured more than a dozen people and killed Karen Diamond, 82.
Commenting on the Bondi attack, Adams described what transpired as “targeted antisemitic terrorism” fueled by “Islamic extremism.”
“It’s exactly what it means to ‘globalize the intifada,'” Adams continued, referring to a controversial phrase echoed by anti-Israel activists that has been widely interpreted as a call for violence against Jews and Israelis. “Words have consequences, and we must condemn the slogans that incite violence and fuel extremism without equivocation.”
Tisch added that “Jewish life will not be driven into the shadows.”
A majority of American Jews now consider antisemitism to be a normal and endemic aspect of life in the US, according to the results of a recent survey commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Jewish Federations of North America.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
