ATLANTA — Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. But people in the Jewish community are celebrating on the heels of a tragedy, and increasing security.
Authorities say two gunmen started shooting in a targeted attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, killing 15 people.
Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers is live off of Tilly Mill Road at the Jewish Community Center on WSB Tonight at 11 p.m. to kick off the eight-day holiday.
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There were several Hanukkah celebrations across the metro area for the first night of the holiday.
Rogers was able to attend both a public and private Menorah lighting celebration earlier where people said community is most important now.
“The message of Hanukkah is the light has to overcome the darkness,” Rabbi Ephraim Silverman, Chabad of East Cobb, said.
On the first night of Hanukkah, darkness clouded over Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.
“It’s heartbreaking to see a Chabad Rabbi gather the community together like that,” Silverman said. “To be murdered in cold blood like that, it’s just heartbreaking.”
Chabad of East Cobb held a Menorah lighting at the avenue Sunday evening and increased security.
“We wanted to make sure people felt safe and take all the necessary precautions, but make sure people knew the activities go on, the joy goes on,” Silverman said.
That joy is why parents say they still came to celebrate.
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“Hanukkah is really all about being a proud Jewish person, and lighting the menorah and displaying it, so its really important I show my children, no matter what adversity there is,” said Jill Wasilewsky, Chabad at East Cobb member.
And keeping community, whether it’s at a public pavilion or a lively living room, remembering light can lift spirits, spinning towards a better tomorrow.
“Not letting the tragedy of the world impact this multi thousand-year-old tradition,” said Rabbi Bradley Levenberg, president of Atlanta Rabbinical Association. “That is Hatikvah. That is the hope.”
Chabad of Georgia is hosting a second night of Hanukkah event Monday in Sandy Springs, where they say they’ll be addressing the shooting that directly impacted the Chabad community..
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