Rabbi Eli Schlanger mourned on final night of Hanukkah at menorah lighting in Brooklyn
On the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, the family of Rabbi Eli Schlanger lit a menorah in Brooklyn, just hours after finishing a week of mourning.
The 41-year-old was one of 15 killed during a holiday celebration in Sydney, Australia on Dec. 14.
"It's really hard to comprehend that such a thing could happen nowadays"
A 10-year-old named Matilda was the youngest victim killed on the first night of Hanukkah. On Sunday night, her family returned to the site of the attack at Bondi Beach, joined by thousands of Jews.
Matilda's father lit the menorah to honor her short, joyful life, an act of mourning, and defiance that was felt from Australia to Israel to New York City.
"Eli's mission in this world was to spread goodness and kindness and spread light around the whole world," Schlanger's sister said.
Rabbi Schlanger had deep ties to Crown Heights, Brooklyn. On Sunday, his family gathered at the largest public menorah.
"My mother-in-law, his sister, just finished the week of mourning, official mourning of shivah, this morning," said Chaim Pinczower, whose wife is Schlanger's niece. "It's really hard to comprehend that such a thing could happen nowadays."
"This time last year, on the first night of Hanukkah in Sydney on Bondi Beach, Eli said, 'This time next year, the entire world is going to know about Hanukkah and the menorah lighting,' and Eli was right," Schlanger's sister said.
Their message is the violence does not extinguish their light. In the face of growing antisemitism in Australia, the father of five advised his community to "be more Jewish."
"Obviously, the tragedy is immense, and the loss is immense," Pinczower said, "and we hope that all the leaders around here, and everybody, local and federal, and state, condemn all hate, and all antisemitism completely."
Latest on the investigation into the Australia mass shooting
Worldwide, antisemitism is surging. New FBI data shows antisemitic incidents in the U.S. jumped 200% from 2023 to 2024.
Australian officials say the shooters, a father and son, were inspired by the Islamic State, adding two ISIS flags were recovered, along with six firearms, during the police investigation. Authorities say the shooters had spent much of November in the Philippines, an area known as a hotbed for terrorists.
CBS News has learned the son had been under investigation for suspected ties to a Sydney-based terror cell back in 2019, but Australia's intelligence agency later determined he posed no threat.