By: Fern Sidman

In a rare and resonant display of bipartisan unity, every Jewish member of the United States House of Representatives on Monday affixed their names to a joint statement condemning the antisemitic mass shooting that shattered a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach the previous evening. The statement, reported on Monday by The Algemeiner, framed the attack not merely as an isolated act of brutality but as a chilling manifestation of a broader and increasingly emboldened global resurgence of antisemitism.

The assault, which took place on the first night of Hanukkah, targeted Jewish families gathered in a spirit of celebration and communal warmth. Fifteen people were murdered, including a 10-year-old child, and more than 40 others were wounded. Australian authorities swiftly characterized the violence as a hate-driven act aimed squarely at the Jewish community, triggering heightened security alerts at Jewish institutions across Australia, the United States, and beyond. As The Algemeiner noted in its coverage, the symbolism of the timing—an attack carried out during a festival commemorating religious freedom and Jewish survival—has rendered the tragedy all the more searing.

“On a night meant for celebration, Jewish families in Australia, gathering in joy and peace on the first night of Hanukkah, were grotesquely targeted with hate and murderous intent,” the lawmakers wrote in the statement, the full text of which was first published by The Algemeiner. The use of the word “grotesque” was deliberate and emphatic, underscoring both the savagery of the act and the moral revulsion it inspired across party lines.

The statement was co-signed by all 25 Jewish members of the House of Representatives, encompassing Democrats and Republicans alike. Among the signatories were senior and prominent lawmakers such as Rep. Brad Sherman of California, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, and Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, alongside Republicans including Reps. Randy Fine of Florida, Max Miller of Ohio, and Craig Goldman of Texas. As The Algemeiner report emphasized, such unanimity is exceedingly rare in an era marked by deep political polarization, lending additional weight to the message the lawmakers sought to convey.

“We stand in solidarity with the Australian Jewish community and together extend our condolences to the family and friends of the people murdered and are praying for the complete recovery of the dozens wounded, and the entire Jewish community feeling besieged,” the statement continued. The language reflected not only grief and sympathy but also a recognition of the pervasive sense of vulnerability felt by Jewish communities worldwide.

Indeed, the lawmakers explicitly linked the Bondi Beach massacre to what they described as a “global resurgence of antisemitism,” warning that hatred toward Jews, when tolerated or minimized, inevitably metastasizes into violence. This framing aligns closely with The Algemeiner’s longstanding editorial position that antisemitism, regardless of its ideological cloak, constitutes a unique and persistent threat to democratic societies.

Drawing on the symbolism of Hanukkah, the statement invoked the festival’s enduring message of light triumphing over darkness. “As we light the menorah each night and remember the miracle of the festival of lights,” the lawmakers wrote, “let us proclaim that light is stronger than darkness, right is stronger than might, and justice is stronger than tyranny.” As The Algemeiner report observed, this rhetorical turn served not only as a gesture of spiritual resilience but also as a moral call to action, urging political leaders and civil society alike to confront antisemitism with clarity and resolve.

The attack itself, according to Australian authorities, is suspected to have been carried out by a father-and-son duo motivated by Islamist extremism, who allegedly targeted Jewish families deliberately and with premeditation. While investigations remain ongoing, officials have been unequivocal in describing the massacre as an antisemitic terror attack. Jewish communal leaders in Sydney had, in the months leading up to the violence, repeatedly warned local and national authorities about escalating antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation, raising questions about whether those warnings were adequately heeded.

The bipartisan congressional statement directly addressed this concern. “Sadly, this attack does not come as a surprise to the Jewish community of Sydney who have been raising a clarion call for local and national authorities to take concrete steps against a rising tide of antisemitism,” the lawmakers wrote. The phrase “clarion call” suggests not merely passive anxiety but active appeals for protection that, in hindsight, appear tragically prescient.

The statement went further, calling on political leaders around the world to reject efforts to excuse, minimize, or rebrand antisemitism under euphemistic or ideological guises. “Antisemitism is a cancer that eats at the core of society, whether in Australia, the United States, or anywhere it is allowed to take root and grow,” the lawmakers declared.

The international reverberations of the Bondi Beach attack were immediate. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the massacre as an act of antisemitic terrorism and reiterated that violence against Jews abroad is inseparable from what he described as a broader campaign of delegitimization and hatred directed at both the Jewish people and the Jewish state. According to The Algemeiner report, Netanyahu also took the opportunity to criticize the Australian government’s recent diplomatic stance, pointing to a letter he had previously sent warning that recognition of a non-existent Palestinian state could embolden extremists and contribute to an atmosphere of incitement.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected that criticism, defending his government’s position by asserting that “overwhelmingly, most of the world recognizes a two-state solution as being the way forward in the Middle East.” As The Algemeiner has reported, this exchange has intensified an already fraught debate over whether symbolic diplomatic gestures—particularly those undertaken outside the framework of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations—may have unintended consequences for Jewish communities in the diaspora.

Critics of unilateral recognition have argued that while a negotiated two-state solution remains a widely endorsed aspiration, bypassing negotiations risks legitimizing maximalist demands and fueling narratives that conflate opposition to Israeli policy with hostility toward Jews more broadly. The Bondi Beach massacre, they contend, illustrates how such narratives can be weaponized by extremists far removed from the Middle East.

For the Jewish members of Congress who signed Monday’s statement, however, the immediate priority was to articulate a clear moral stance and to reaffirm that the defense of Jewish life transcends partisan divides. Rep. Brad Sherman, a senior Democrat who helped lead the effort, stressed that combating antisemitism is not—and must never become—a political litmus test. As The Algemeiner emphasized in its coverage of congressional responses to antisemitism, this insistence on bipartisanship is critical to ensuring that opposition to Jew-hatred remains both credible and effective.

The statement concluded with a forward-looking appeal that blended solemnity with hope. “Jews around the world will continue to gather this week to celebrate Hanukkah and its story of religious freedom and defiant optimism,” the lawmakers wrote. “Wishing all Jewish communities and the world around us strength and peace.”

As the investigation in Australia continues and Jewish communities worldwide remain on heightened alert, the congressional statement stands as both a denunciation of unspeakable violence and a reaffirmation of shared democratic values. In the words of The Algemeiner, it represents a moment when political leaders chose moral clarity over equivocation, and unity over division—an example many hope will be replicated as societies grapple with the persistent and evolving threat of antisemitism.