North Fork rabbi lights menorah in defiance after friend killed in Australian terror attack

Hours after his friend was killed in the Bondi Beach massacre in Sydney on Dec. 14, Hanukkah’s first night, Rabbi Shaya Hurwitz, leader of Chabad of North Fork in Mattituck, gathered about 40 people at Veterans Beach to light the menorah.

Among the 15 victims of the Australia attack was 41-year-old Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a friend Rabbi Hurwitz had known through years of Chabad training in France and Brooklyn.

“He was a joyous, good guy. He was the best of us,” an emotional Rabbi Hurwitz, 38, told The Suffolk Times in an exclusive interview Monday. “A true leader.”

Rabbi Hurwitz — who has led Chabad of North Fork since moving to Mattituck from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in 2020 — and Rabbi Schlanger forged a bond in their youth, during an incident Rabbi Hurwitz recalled as foreshadowing his friend’s courage.

The two were with a group of religious students in St. Denis, near Paris, when they were chased by a bat-wielding mob while trying to catch the last train.

“Eli was one of the few who didn’t run — he stood up. Even then, he stood up to antisemitism,” Rabbi Hurwitz said.

The news of the deadly assault by a father and son on the other side of the world hit the North Fork hard. Rabbi Hurwitz’s decision to proceed with the menorah lighting triggered support from police, who provided security and even joined in eating sufganiot (jelly donuts) with others who braved the snow-covered sand.

“We have to stand up and stand proud. That’s the only way to deal with this tragedy,” he said. 

The rabbi encouraged participants to wear Stars of David openly, and stressed that “there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We have thousands of Americans scared of their Judaism, especially out here on the North Fork.”

Riverhead resident Mark Alhadeff, 62, initially wrestled with his own fear before attending the Mattituck menorah lighting.

“There was a lot of crying and being in self-defense mode and hiding,” he said, referring to his initial reaction to the terror attack. “Then I said, ‘No, I’m not going to hide.'”

Mr. Alhadeff was emboldened by Rabbi Hurwitz’s words and immediately went on Amazon to order an eight-foot dreidel, which he will place in his front yard.

“It felt weird. We didn’t know what to expect,” Mr. Alhadeff said. “But it was the happiest place you can imagine. Everyone there was saying the same thing: ‘We’re here in defiance.'”

A Pattern of Attacks

The Bondi Beach attack — which left more than 40 injured, including Rabbi Hurwitz’s cousin Pinny, who was shot in the neck — is the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents in Australia. On Dec. 6, 2024, arsonists attacked the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, causing significant damage and injuring a congregant. Rabbi Schlanger’s response at that time would prove prophetic.

“Be more Jewish, act more Jewish and appear more Jewish,” he urged his community after the Melbourne fire, according to Rabbi Hurwitz. “Let’s be proud of who we are. Spread light, spread happiness, spread joy — because that prevails in darkness.”

That same message echoed during the Bondi Beach celebration, before Rabbi Schlanger was killed while leading the community’s Hanukkah by the Sea ceremony.

For Rabbi Hurwitz and his family — his wife, Mushky, and their two children — the story of the Maccabees resisting overwhelming odds resonates more than ever in the wake of the senseless slaughter.

“That’s what Hanukkah is about,” the rabbi said. “Standing up to adversity when you’re outnumbered, being proud of who you are, standing tall and being a bright light that spreads righteousness.

“That’s what Eli would have wanted.”

Chabad of North Fork will hold another Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 4:30 p.m. at the Hen-Pecked Husband Farm, 1254 Northville Turnpike in Riverhead.