The Dallas Police Department is on high alert after an attack on a Hanukkah celebration Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 11 people.
With Hanukkah beginning Sunday evening, the department said on social media that officers will “maintain an established presence and heightened awareness at related events and locations across the city.” The Jewish holiday runs through Dec. 22.
“We are proactively assessing and enhancing safety measures and maintaining close communication with our public safety partners,” the department wrote.
No credible threats have been identified in Dallas, the department noted.
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Dallas’ Fusion Center, a crime-intelligence hub, operates around the clock, working closely with regional and national partners to share information, the department said.
The messaging early Sunday from DPD also mentioned a shooting Saturday at Brown University, where two students were killed and nine were wounded.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Sunday’s massacre an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation. In addition to the 11 people killed, at least 29 people were confirmed wounded, including two police officers. Police shot and killed one of the gunmen; the other was arrested and is in critical condition.
Antisemitism has risen sharply in the United States and around the world in recent years. Protests against Israel soared after Hamas attacked Israel in 2023, killing about 1,200 people, and Israel launched a war against Hamas that killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza.
In 2024, the Anti-Defamation League identified 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the U.S., a 344% increase over five years and 893% over 10 years. It marks the highest number on record since the organization began tracking antisemitism in 1979.
In 2022, a gunman took four people, including a rabbi, hostage for 11 hours at Congregation Beth Israel, a Colleyville synagogue. The hostages were eventually released or escaped, and the gunman was shot and killed by the FBI.