{"id":83385,"date":"2025-12-14T21:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T21:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/83385\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T21:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T21:23:09","slug":"florida-lawmakers-condemn-tragic-shooting-at-jewish-event-in-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/83385\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida lawmakers condemn tragic shooting at Jewish event in Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

The horrific shooting in Australia that claimed at least 16 lives during a Hanukkah celebration has prompted an expression of sympathy from Florida lawmakers.<\/p>\n

The Florida Jewish Legislative Caucus<\/a> issued a statement of condemnation of the violence during the Jewish observance on Sydney\u2019s Bondi Beach. The Caucus published its statement Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus unequivocally condemns the horrific and senseless killing that occurred during Hanukkah in Australia. An act of violence against Jews celebrating their faith is an attack not only on a single community, but on the fundamental values of freedom, religious liberty, and human dignity,\u201d the Florida Legislative Caucus said in a news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand in unwavering solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters in Australia, with the victims\u2019 families, and with Jewish communities around the world who are once again forced to confront hatred simply for being who they are. The State of Florida\u2019s Jewish legislators join in mourning, remembrance, and resolve.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus has 12 members from the House of Representatives and two State Senators.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hundreds of people had gathered Sunday at the beach for an event to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah, when gunmen opened fire<\/a>. At least 38 others were injured in the attack.<\/p>\n

New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park said the death toll had risen from 12 to 16 overnight, including a 12-year-old child. Three other children are being treated in the hospital, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is absolutely horrendous for the community broadly, but particularly the Jewish community. \u2026 What we saw last night was the worst of humanity, but at the same time, the very best of humanity,\u201d Park said.<\/p>\n

The massacre at one of Australia\u2019s most popular beaches followed a\u00a0wave of antisemitic attacks<\/a> that have roiled the country over the past year. However, the authorities didn\u2019t suggest that those and Sunday\u2019s shooting were connected. It is the deadliest shooting in almost three decades in a country with strict gun control laws.<\/p>\n

Police fatally shot one gunman, and the second was arrested and is in critical condition, authorities said. Police said one gunman was known to security services, but there was no specific threat.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At least 29 people were confirmed wounded, including two police officers, said Mal Lanyon, Police Commissioner for New South Wales state, where Sydney is located.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis attack was designed to target Sydney\u2019s Jewish community,\u201d New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said.<\/p>\n

The violence erupted at the end of a Summer day when thousands had flocked to Bondi Beach, including hundreds gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event celebrating the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report with permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The horrific shooting in Australia that claimed at least 16 lives during a Hanukkah celebration has prompted an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[41480,12388,46050,46051,28,30,46052,29,41482,46053,46054,215],"class_list":{"0":"post-83385","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-antisemitism","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-bondi-beach","11":"tag-chris-minns","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-florida-headlines","14":"tag-florida-jewish-legislative-caucus","15":"tag-florida-news","16":"tag-hanukkah","17":"tag-mal-lanyon","18":"tag-ryan-park","19":"tag-shooting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}