Members of Colorado Springs’ Jewish community gathered Sunday evening at Temple Shalom to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, as Jewish communities worldwide reflected on recent violence abroad.

Hanukkah, one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays, begins Sunday, Dec. 14. Known as the festival of lights, Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday in the Jewish faith marked by the nightly lighting of candles.

Sunday's terrorist attack on Jewish Australians in Sydney highlights the community's fears amid rising antisemitism and government inaction since Oct.7, 2023.

Rabbi Abraham Unger, executive director of New Synagogue Palm Beach, said the holiday recognizes the survival of the Jewish people during a time of widespread assimilation and oppression, as it commemorates the Jewish people’s triumph over Greek-Syrian control more than 2,000 years ago.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ascribed the fatal mass shooting in Sydney to Australia’s call for a Palestinian state, saying he warned ahead of the attack that the move “pours fuel on antisemitic fire.