Bermuda’s Jewish community came together last night to celebrate the start of Chanukkah, hours after a terrorist attack yesterday, in Australia.

Fiona Elkinson, of the Jewish Community of Bermuda, told a crowd of about 100 people at a menorah lighting ceremony at City Hall that she had family in Sydney who had been celebrating just a few miles from the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach.

Ms Elkinson said: “They were at a candle lighting ceremony. The ceremony was broken, they were brought to a stadium where they were held for an hour, not knowing that there had been an attack.

“They were looking at their phones, wondering what had happened and horrified to learn that a terrorist attack happened six miles away.”

Ms Elkinson said that the lighting of the menorah was a symbol of bringing light to darkness and freedom against oppression.

She added: “We are here, despite the evil ones who seek to terrorise and destroy, to light the menorah.”

Rabbi Chaim Birnhack said that the attack on the Chanukkah event in Australia, which left at least 15 people dead, had rocked the Jewish community across the world.

He said: “Our hearts are once again broken. Broken for the victims, for their families and for the Jewish community that is being forced once again to face hatred.”

However, he told attendees in Bermuda that the story of Chanukkah was one of faith and courage, which teaches that the answer in times of darkness was not to retreat or fall silent, but to bring light.

He said: “Tonight, as we gather here, we carry that pain with us and respond the only way that Chanukkah knows, by adding light, by strengthening one another and by refusing to let darkness have the final word.”

Mr Birnhack noted that City Hall hosted its first menorah lighting ceremony last year, and said that it is hoped that the tradition will continue and grow.

He said: “Tradition is not about firsts. It is about continuity.

“By gathering here once again we are no longer making a moment, we are making a Bermudian tradition, a tradition that returns year after year, that grows stronger with time and that refuses to fade.”

Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Transport, Culture and Sport, said that the gathering was a reminder of the importance of community, compassion and standing together.

He added: “Our island is strengthened by the rich tapestry of cultures, traditions and faiths that coexist with respect and care for another.

“Tonight’s menorah lighting ceremony is a powerful symbol of that spirit, one of resilience, inclusion and unity.”

Dwayne Caines, the chief executive of the City of Hamilton, said that there have been times throughout history where darkness has seemed overwhelming, and it was from one of those periods that the story of Chanukkah came.

He said: “It is a story not of power or conquest, but a story of perseverance, courage and the enduring belief that light must be protected and shared.”

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