Following the deadly shooting at a Chabad house in Sydney that occurred on Sunday, which claimed 11 lives including Chabad emissary to Australia Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Dr. Daniel Zeloof, an anesthesiologist from the city who is married with three children, told Israel Hayom, "How terrible that this attack is happening specifically during Hanukkah, a time when we need to stand proud and not be afraid to show that we are Jews."
Throughout the conversation with him, more and more prayer requests arrived for those wounded in the mass-casualty attack that occurred in his city. He said that one of the terrorists was young, born in 2001, according to a photo of his driver's license that circulated in Jewish groups in the city.
Video: PM Albanese on the Hanukkah massacre / Credit: Reuters
"I agree 100% with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who placed responsibility on the Australian government," Dr. Zeloof said firmly. "Australia has leadership that has allowed countless antisemitic incidents and let them pass without response. After the October 7 massacre, there were violent demonstrations calling 'death to Jews' and 'Jews need to be choked with gas.'
"There was one massive demonstration that blocked the Sydney bridge, the main artery of the city, and all this without response. Even when there are attacks on Jewish-owned businesses, there is almost no response from law enforcement authorities. This is a very dangerous slippery slope."
During the attack, Dr. Zeloof was celebrating the first evening of Hanukkah at another massive Jewish event in the north of the city. He testified that everyone was in shock, but no one was surprised. "There was deep sorrow in us and tremendous anger at the government that does nothing against this toxic wave.
"But without a doubt, the writing was on the wall. I spoke with people from the Jewish community's security, and they told me that such a scenario is their ultimate nightmare. They prepared for it. There were many community security personnel at the event I attended, and there was almost no police at all. The police only arrived after the attack began. Of course, I would have been happy to see much more police at such events."
Dr. Zeloof left England several years ago because he felt he couldn't carry his Jewish identity openly in the streets for fear that people would attack him. Until about two years ago, he felt safe in Australia, but recently, when those same feelings returned and arose there too, the Zeloof family has been planning their upcoming move to Israel in another two and a half months. He wants to emphasize that this step does not come from rejection or fear, but rather from love of Israel and a desire to be in a place where Jewish history is unfolding.
This evening, before he calmed his children and put them to sleep, he remembered how, when the news about the attack arrived at the event he attended, he saw Jews removing their kippas and fleeing in a run. "I am devastated and shocked by this attack, and I fear that following it, Jews will participate less in public events to strengthen Jewish identity and support for Israel. At the same time, I fear that such events will repeat themselves because I have no faith in the government to act forcefully against the desire to murder Jews. In my opinion, this is only the beginning."
