For many, official promises to stamp out the “evil scourge” of antisemitism and consider further tightening gun control measures come too late.

Children at Congregation Beth Israel in Scottsdale got an early start on the holiday festivities, singing songs, playing games and lighting the Hanukkah menorah.

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.

The daughter of one of the victims of Sunday's Bondi Beach terror attack told CBS News on Monday that her father was "shot dead for being Jewish," and she now believes Australia is not a safe home for Jewish people.

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.