Name: Massive 61-foot menorah lit in Clearwater to honor Sydney victims
Uploaded: 2025-12-22T10:21:49.672Z
Duration: 2 min 54 s
Description: The Jewish community in Clearwater honored the final night of Hanukkah with a powerful tribute to victims of last week’s mass shooting in Sydney, Australia.

The Jewish community in Clearwater honored the final night of Hanukkah with a powerful tribute to victims of last week’s mass shooting in Sydney, Australia.

Tampa

A 61-foot menorah, one of the largest in the world, was lit in Clearwater, Florida, on the final night of Hanukkah to honor the victims of a mass shooting in Sydney, Australia. The event, organized by Habbat of Clearwater, included special prayers, participation from local police, and a Holocaust survivor lighting candles to symbolize resilience and unity.

Community members gathered despite recent tragedies, emphasizing the importance of public celebration and collective strength in the face of darkness. The menorah lighting served as both a tribute to the 15 lives lost in Sydney and a message of hope and solidarity for the global Jewish community.

Massive 61-foot menorah lit in Clearwater to honor Sydney victims

now. Hello and welcome to Tampa Bay 28 News at 11. I'm Nadine Giannis. Thank you for joining us tonight is the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, a time of light and reflection for our local jewish community. A celebration that unfortunately came days after a brutal attack in Sydney, Australia in honor of those victims and in honor of bringing light on this last eve of Hanukkah with one of the largest menorahs in the world. Tampa Bay 28 reporter and a Gutierrez is there tonight. Hanukkah is about shining light in the midst of darkness and tonight that's exactly what Habbat of Clearwater is doing honoring the victims of last week's mass shooting in Australia through a powerful message of remembrance and unity. Tonight we're honoring the memory of the victims of the terrible massacre that took place exactly one week ago. Sunday marks the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, a day meant to be joyous and full of light. So the Habbat of Clearwater says they are lighting the world's longest menorah at a little over 61 ft long. We were happy to be able to gather the jewish community together once again to show that no matter what type of darkness might be in the world, we are going to continue lighting up the world with our menorahs and public. We're going to live at proud jews and no enemies are going to force us into hiding. And while the festival of lights is about celebration, the Habbat of Clearwater says they are also remembering the 15 lives lost in last week's brutal attack in sydney. It's not only about standing with sydney in words, judaism demands action. So to stand in solidarity with the victims, they included a special prayer and even had the Clearwater police deputy chief light the first candle of the menorah and had a 93 year old holocaust survivor finished lighting the rest of the candles with oil in true jewish fashion. The menorah's flames symbolize our collective strength to shine bright, even in the darkest of moments, a dark moment that has shaken many jewish community members in Pinellas County. It's very hurtful. It was a girl 10 years old. It's a very hard to understand, very hard to accept. Herb Kolatsky and his wife, Malka began to get visibly emotional about the tragedy. It's just terrible what goes on. But despite the fear, more than a dozen people came out to sunday's menorah lighting. We have to make this world a better, brighter place. It's up to each and every single one of us. Hate will never win. Light will always overcome darkness. That's what these jews came out to do. We just hope that the light spreads around the world because that's what we need. We should celebrate, we should be happy, happy Hanukkah to all of florida. Monday is the official last day of Hanukkah reporting in Clearwater. I'm in a Gutierrez Tampa Bay 28

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