(The Center Square) – The massacre at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, over the weekend did not keep members of the Seattle Jewish community from turning out in large numbers Sunday evening at the city’s oldest synagogue to celebrate the beginning of the Jewish holiday.
Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath, or BCMH, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue in the Seward Park neighborhood.
KVI Seattle Talk Show Host Ari Hoffman is the president of BCMH and spoke with The Center Square Sunday afternoon about the attack in Australia and the rise of radical Islam.
“The first thing I thought of was October 7th,” he said, a reference to the 2023 date when the terrorist organization Hamas launched a large-scale, surprise attack on Israel from Gaza, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians and foreign nationals, and abducting an estimated 251 people. “It's the same thing all over again. This is what ‘globalize the Intifada’ looks like.”
Sunday’s terror attack in Australia by father-and-son gunmen left 16 people dead in total and dozens injured. Victims ranged in age 10 to 87.
The suspects have been identified as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram. The younger suspect was shot by police but survived. His father was killed.
Hoffman said Monday morning that Sunday evening’s BCMH event was a sellout, and evidence that the attack did not deter anyone from attending.
“Look, I'm a right-wing radio commentator,” he said. “So, I'm a conservative commentator. And if, God forbid, something happens to me, it's not going to be because I’m a right-wing commentator. It's going to be because I was a Jewish commentator. And the threats I get are because I'm Jewish, not because I'm conservative.”
Hoffman said he was aware on Sunday that some Jewish leaders were canceling Hanukkah events in the wake of the attack, but said that would not be BCMH’s response.
“We get more security, we bring more guns, but we don't cancel,” he said. “It's evil, and they just want to kill Jews. That's it. And you have to say, ‘No, we're standing up in the face of terror.’ Terror is meant to terrorize you. So, you stand up, and you say, ‘No, we're going to be safe. We're going to continue our practice for those who can't celebrate anymore.’”
The Center Square reached out to the Council on American Islamic Relations for comment on the attack.
“We echo the Australian Muslim community’s statements denouncing the deadly attack on a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach in Sydney. We also commend Ahmed Al Ahmed, the Australian man who reportedly tackled and disarmed one of the shooters, taking fire and risking his own life to save lives,” a CAIR representative emailed The Center Square.
“The criminals Mr. al Ahmed bravely confronted do not represent the Australian Muslim community or the country’s diverse movement to peacefully advocate for Palestinian human rights, which is why both have rejected their violence.”
It has been widely confirmed by his family and multiple news sources that Ahmed al Ahmed is a Muslim. He is a Syrian-Australian man who has been credited with tackling and disarming one of the gunmen during the Bondi Beach attack.
There had been some initial social media speculation that al Ahmed was a Maronite Christian. That has since been debunked by his family and various media outlets.
“Predictably, extremists online are already using today’s crime to justify their calls for hate and violence against all immigrants and Western Muslims,” CAIR’s statement concluded. “This, too, is unacceptable. We encourage people of all faiths to review their security procedures and precautions, and for law enforcement to ensure all communities are safe as the holidays approach.”
Hoffman said what is happening to Jews is the “canary in the coal mine for the West.”
“This stuff has been on our shores for years. We wake up, we get upset about it. We decide we're going to do something about it, and then we fall back asleep again,” he said. “It used to be every few years. Now it's every couple of months to remember what the enemy really wants from all of us.
“And they don't care if you're Jewish. They don't care if you're Christian. They just care that you're American. They don't care if you're Democrat or Republican. They just care that you are American. You're a part of the great Satan. If you’re Jewish, you're a part of the little Satan. That's all they care about, and that's why they want to kill you.”
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