UK chief rabbi says cousin hid for 15 'terrifying' minutes in Bondi attack

As gunmen opened fire during the Bondi Beach attack, UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said his cousin and cousin's wife

spent 15 terrifying minutes hiding under a doughnut stand. The rabbi said,

people to their right and left were being shot dead. On the beach in Sydney, fifteen people were killed, including a 10-year-old girl. One of Hanukkah's most important messages is that Jews from around the world say we belong, and we will not hide who we are, Rabbi Mirvis said, but that statement was met with murderous hate at Sunday's mass shooting. According to him, toxic antisemitism must be addressed.

People should stand together

against the normalised rhetoric that demonises Jews and the sole Jewish state,

Rabbi Mirvis, who will fly to Sydney, has urged people to stand together. The chief rabbi said at the Hanukkah festival on Bondi Beach, Jewish people were

targeted for the simple act of coming together, visibly and peacefully as Jews. The right of Jewish synagogues to gather safely and publicly is a

test of any society's moral wellbeing.

Jews have suffered with security worries for as long as I can recall, but the fact that every public Jewish gathering must be weighed for danger today shows something profoundly wrong.

A society in which a minority group must

decide whether it is safe to be seen together in public

is a society that is failing all of its civilians. Jews areon the front line,he said later, and have suffered with repeatedterrorist attacks. Alex Davies-Jones, the UK Justice Minister, will fly to Manchester on Monday to commemorate HanUKkah with a survivors of the assault on the Heaton Park synagogue, which took place on Yom Kippur in September and left two Jewish victims dead. Davies-Jones expressed sympathy with the Jewish people in the United Kingdom, saying that

ensure that their HanUKkah activities and their celebrations can go forward.

How deeply and profoundly this is felt by the Jewish people here in the United Kingdom, and we stand with them," she said. Around 18:47 local time (07:47 GMT) on Sunday, a shooting in Australia began around 18:48 local time (007:48 GMT) as around a thousand people were said to attend a public event hosted by Jewish centre Chabad of Bondi. Hundreds of people were seen fleeing the beach, screaming, and running as a volley of gunshots rang out, according to verified footage. The victims' ages ranged from ten to 87 years old, including two rabbis and a Holocaust survivor. In local media, the two gunmen were identified as 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who died on scene, and his 24-year-father, Naveed Akram. He is in hospital in a critical condition.

For far too long we have allowed chants such asglobalise the intifada,the chief rabbi said,incite mistrust and inspire people to participate in hate marches.

Why is it still allowed? What does globalize the intifada imply? I'll tell you the meaning: It's what happened on Bondi beach yesterday.

We must be much more stringent in terms of what people are allowed to say and do in a manner that incites hatred, which is the source of the brutality we've seen.

The Community Security Trust, a charity that helps Jewish communities in the United Kingdom, told the BBC that the UK has seen unprecedented anti-Jewish hate crime, and that it has increased immediately after the 7th Hamas assault on Israel.

We have had major demonstrations going on in our city centers and university campuses, as well as calls for intifada,

CST's head of policy, Dave Rich, told the Today programme.

Jewish people see a link between violent words and violent conduct,he said. The Bondi attacks were described asthe extreme end of this political spectrum,

he said. The festival in Hanukkah honors the defiance of a tiny group of Jews who were threatened by Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes, according to the chief rabbi. He denied them the right to freely practice their faith without compromising on the pain of death.

their refusal to be threatened or erasedare the festival's theme.The Jewish community is nervous. The Jewish community is strong. The Jewish community is concerned, but we're tenacious. We'll be out there during the eight days of Hanukkah, so we'll see you there.