Posted on 12/15/25
| News Source: WBAL
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 15, 2025 - Members of the Jewish community in Pikesville gathered Sunday at ARIEL Chabad for a menorah lighting event on the first night of Hanukkah with increased security measures in place in response to the Australia mass shooting.
Rabbi Velvel Belinsky, who is the director of ARIEL Chabad, is devastated by the shooting on Bondi Beach, which targeted the Jewish community during a menorah lighting event.
“The terrorist attack that was in Australia touched me personally because as a yeshiva student I was sent for one year to help working in Australia with the Jewish community, and I was working at the very Chabad Center that organized this menorah lighting,” Belinsky said.
He knew the head rabbi behind the event and his son-in-law, who died in the shooting.
“I really was disturbed by what I saw, but at the same time, I right away remembered that this big darkness is scrolling for even bigger light,” Belinsky said.
A similar sentiment was shared at the annual Inner Harbor Menorah Lighting, where community leaders and members of the Jewish community gathered with increased security.
“Even in this moment, where we see antisemitism in Australia, and even here in Baltimore, and where, last week, I spent time having Nazi graffiti removed from a billboard,” Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen said. “Even in this moment, where antisemitism and Islamophobia reign out, we know that here in Baltimore, we stand united.”
The Chanukah House of Pikesville is displaying lights all over the home, porch and yard with menorah lighting events throughout Hanukkah.
“I think it’s really exciting to bring some joy to the Jewish community in light of events today in Australia,” said David Hefter, one of the owners of the Chanukah House of Pikesville.
Belinsky emphasized that no tragedy or attack can take the light from the Jewish community.
“Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of darkness in the world but at the same time we see our mission to bring more light into the world,” he said.
As Hanukkah continues, Belinsky said that ARIEL Chabad will maintain extra precautions to ensure safety.