NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani condemns Australia Hanukkah attack as "vile antisemitic terror" but stops short of condemning controversial phrase.

The Chabad of Anne Arundel County’s parade of lights and Menorah lighting took on a more somber and defiant tone this year.

Jewish groups and law enforcement agencies across the Houston area are on alert in the wake of the shooting, in which at least 15 people were killed and dozens more were injured.

The attack comes as tensions are heightened around the world at the beginning of Hannukah, the Jewish holiday that begins on the evening of Dec. 14.

Members of the Jewish community in Pikesville gathered Sunday at ARIEL Chabad for a menorah lighting event on the first night of Hanukkah with increased security measures in place in response to the Australia mass shooting.

Hanukkah, one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays, begins Sunday, Dec. 14. Known as the festival of lights, Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday in the Jewish faith marked by the nightly lighting of candles.

Sunday's terrorist attack on Jewish Australians in Sydney highlights the community's fears amid rising antisemitism and government inaction since Oct.7, 2023.

Rabbi Abraham Unger, executive director of New Synagogue Palm Beach, said the holiday recognizes the survival of the Jewish people during a time of widespread assimilation and oppression, as it commemorates the Jewish people’s triumph over Greek-Syrian control more than 2,000 years ago.