After the killing of at least 15 people during a Jewish holiday celebration in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, the Jewish community in Santa Barbara is mourning. But despite feelings of shock and grief, community leaders say they will not dim their lights this Hanukkah.
What was meant to be a joyful celebration of the first night of Hanukkah on Sydney’s Bondi Beach turned tragic when a father and son allegedly opened fire on the crowd, reportedly motivated by radical “Islamic State ideology” and related anti-Semitism, according to Australian officials.
Hundreds had come to the beach for the event, where the two gunmen arrived by car and began shooting at the crowd. In addition to the confirmed deaths, it was reported that nearly 40 people were sent to the hospital with mild to severe injuries. Australian police reportedly found homemade Islamic State flags and two improvised explosives in a vehicle registered to one of the suspects. One bystander, Ahmed el Ahmed, a Syrian immigrant, is being hailed a hero for tackling and disarming one of the attackers before being shot in the shoulder, as seen in a witness video posted by The New York Times…