Knesset lit up in colors of Australian flag following Sydney Hanukkah shooting

By Sam Sokol 14 December 2025, 6:48 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

The Knesset lit up with the colors of the Australian flag, following a shooting at a Sydney Hanukkah event, December 14, 2025. (Knesset Spokesman)

The Knesset is lit up in the colors of the Australian flag in a sign of solidarity following today’s deadly shooting attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

“The Knesset bows its head in memory of the victims of the shocking terrorist attack in Sydney and stands by the Jewish community in Australia. Your pain is our pain. We will not give in to antisemites and to terror. They will not defeat us. Am Yisrael Chai,” says Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

In an English-language tweet today, Ohana said the attack was “what ‘Globalize the intifada’ looks like. A bloodied holiday for Jews.”

He argued that “wherever antisemitism is not confronted head-on, it will transform into terrorism against Jews. The best time to act was when it started. The second-best time is NOW.”