Hanukkah celebrations went on as scheduled throughout NYC Sunday night, offering a glimmer of hope following the horrific antisemitic terror attack in Australia that occurred on the first night of the Jewish holiday.
Menorah lighting events took place around NYC following the targeted terrorist attack on a Jewish celebration on Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach on Dec. 14. At press time, the death toll from the attack was 16, with many more injured in the attack.
Despite the tragic start to the holiday, the Festival of Lights kicked off Sunday night at Grand Army Plaza, where the annual menorah lighting took place in Midtown. Aly Singhthakur of Tennessee was at the celebration, but admitted at one point she thought about watching it from afar as a safety precaution.
Singhthakur called the Sydney attack a tragedy but added that people can not let such a horrific event stop them from doing things that they love.
“The thing is, you cannot let it keep you indoors and keep you from doing the things that you love, because that’s what they want,” she said. “They want to get to the better of you. So we’re here. We’re going to show our strength, show our pride, and do what we do best, and let’s celebrate Hanukkah.”
Rebecca Carroll was also at Grand Army Plaza to celebrate the Jewish holiday. She spoke about the resilience of the Jewish people.
“The Jewish people have always been very resilient throughout history, and God tells us all to not live in fear, and he protects his children even when tragedy happens,” she explained. “But it’s important not to live in fear and not to let evil overcome you.
Meanwhile, another woman named Sarah said she is going to be cautious and watch the lighting on the “outskirts” of the event.
I think when you celebrate it in public, like here, I would be more cautious,” she said. “Like, I plan on coming back for lighting tonight, and I’m not going to be staying right here. I’m going to be more on the outskirts, just in case something happens. I can, like, evacuate more quickly. But otherwise, personally, I’m not someone who’s super afraid, so I’m not very afraid or whatever.”
Like others at the menorah lighting, Sofya Reyfman said matter-of-factly that she is “not afraid of anything” and would not let the attack overseas stop her from celebrating the holiday.
“Listen I came 36 years ago from Russia, and I know what it is with antisemitism, you know, to the Jewish people. That’s why I’m against, very against it, and half of the life I spent here in New York, and I’m not afraid of anything,” she said.
Reyfman added that she had no second guesses about coming out to the event, but said it was “very sad” what happened in Sydney.
“It’s very sad, but we have to stay, stay and fight and be around the menorah during the holiday,” she said.
Reyfman shared that she was very happy when she moved to the United States, but is distressed by the recent uptick in antisemitism since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel by Hamas terrorists.
“I hope it will go away,” she said. “Slowly it’s going away because one year ago, it was worse. Now it’s getting better.”
