GTA’s Jewish community stands strong following deadly attack at Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s Sara Lefton on how the deadly Bondi Beach attack is impacting how Canada’s Jewish community is celebrating Hanukkah.

As the sun goes down and menorahs are lit signalling the start of Hanukkah, Jewish families across the Greater Toronto Area are standing up in the face of terror.

“We shouldn’t be scared. We should be stronger. We should get back up and be even stronger than before,” Mimi Gansburg, who is 11, told CTV News Toronto on Sunday.

At Bayview and Millwood avenues in Leaside, public Hanukkah celebrations continued, with children exploring area businesses and taking in activities and treats, despite the anxiety many area are feeling around the mass murder of Jews practicing their faith in Sydney, Australia.

Rabbi Levi Gansburg, the co-founder of Chabad on Bayview, says people have asked him if they’re going to change their scheduled events in light of the tragedy.

“This answer is yes. We’re gonna up the game. We are not backing down,” he said.

“The story of Hanukkah is about a small group standing up for what’s moral, standing for what’s right, tolerance over intolerance, light over darkness.”

Gansburg said he knows two of the Bondi Beach victims. One, he says, is a rabbi from the United Kingdom who died.

“He moved to Australia with this wife to really help out the Jewish community there. He has five kids and just had a baby two months ago,” Gansburg said, adding the second person he knows is his own brother-in-law’s nephew, from Texas, who is wounded.

“Thank God he is in stable condition, a 21-year-old boy, so we have a very deep connection to this story.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford took to social media on Sunday, sharing his thoughts with the Jewish community in Australia, in Ontario, and around the world.

“As we come together in support of our Jewish friends and neighbours to grieve this terrible attack, we must all stand with our Jewish community against hate and antisemitism wherever it is found,” Ford said.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow condemned antisemitism, writing that it must be confronted wherever it exists.

“To Toronto’s Jewish community: I know the fear you feel is real, while celebrating your faith, gathering with loved ones or simply being visible. You deserve to live freely, openly and safely in our city,” she wrote in a post.

“Toronto stands with you today, during Hanukkah, and always.”

Sara Lefton, chief development officer at the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation, said members of the local Jewish community are both heartbroken and scared.

The UJA Federation is calling for more to be done by governments and people of all backgrounds in their everyday lives to combat antisemitism and hate, pointing to security threats, repeated acts of vandalism on a local synagogue, and a girls’ school shot at three times.

“So when we see hateful words turn into hateful actions, like what we’ve just seen in Sydney, Australia, the Jewish community knows we are not far behind and that’s why we’ve been asking over and over for people to stand up and to recognize what is happening in our city,” Lefton said.

Toronto police, meanwhile, say people can expect to see officers at public gatherings, places of worship, and schools.

“You will see an increased presence in and around our Jewish communities over the coming hours and days as Hanukkah is here, a very important time of year on the Jewish calendar and for all of us to come together in solidarity,” Chief Myron Demkiw said.

Back on Bayview, families are enjoying the festival of lights, which is bringing joy to the neighbourhood.

“We will not coward in the face of darkness. We will not coward in the face of evil,” the local rabbi said.

“Light dispels darkness and we want to be the light in the face of darkness.”

Several events are planned over the eight nights of Hanukkah across the GTA, including a public menorah lighting on Monday evening at York Mills Road and Bayview Avenue.