In the largest public Menorah celebrations in New York City, nearly 18,000 people gathered at Barclays Center Thursday night as the Brooklyn Nets hosted the Miami Heat in a game transformed into a tribute to the 15 victims murdered in Sunday’s terrorist attack at a Bondi Beach Chanukah celebration in Sydney, Australia.
The evening’s centerpiece was the lighting of a giant basketball menorah by 14-year-old Eli Drizin of Brooklyn, nephew of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, one of two Chabad rabbis killed in the attack. The somber yet defiant ceremony drew sustained applause from the arena as fans stood in solidarity with Sydney’s Jewish community.
“Nets fans, tonight as we celebrate the Jewish festival of light, we ask you to help us mourn the lives of those lost in the senseless attack that took place at the Bondi Beach Chaukah festival in Sydney, Australia on Sunday,” the Barclays announcer told the crowd. “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victims, their families and friends, and the worldwide community.”
Young Eli was accompanied by Rabbi Mendy Hecht of Chabad Prospect Heights and Rabbi Shimon Rivkin, Director of CTeen International, who co-organized the evening together with the Nets. After reciting the blessings and kindling the Menorah, attendees broke into spontaneous dance, transforming the solemn ceremony into a celebration of Jewish resilience that drew a standing ovation from the arena.
“After all that we’ve been through, having this big stage to share the Rebbe’s message that we could all be ambassadors of light, that each person could take the light of God and make it theirs and bring more light, is the most powerful thing,” said Rabbi Mendy Hecht of Chabad Prospect Heights, representing Chabad of Brownstone Brooklyn, who co-organized the event with CTeen International. “This big menorah lighting was a huge uplift in morale for our people.”
The evening was a fitting tribute. In the face of rising antisemitism in Australia, Rabbi Schlanger had been a vocal advocate for visible Jewish identity, urging Australian Jews to “be more Jewish, act more Jewish and appear more Jewish.”
“We are completely devastated,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky of Chabad World Headquarters. “Yet we are coming back even stronger. They aimed to create incomprehensible darkness; we must respond with incomprehensible light. The message of the Menorah is: when you squeeze an olive, oil emerges. When you try to crush the Jewish people, our true strength emerges.”
The event brought together Jewish teens from across the tri-state area, which holds close ties to the victims, including chapters of CTeen, the world’s largest Jewish teen organization with 842 chapters in 67 countries. Following the ceremony, young CTeen leaders participated in a special halftime game played on the Nets’ home court.
“In light of the horrific events in Sydney, it’s so important for us to be together at this time, proudly celebrating our tradition,” said Jake Zborovsky, a junior at Northern Highlands High School in Upper Saddle River, NJ, and member of Valley Chabad CTeen who played in the halftime game. “It was an honor to represent on the court.”
Since Sunday’s attack, public menorah lightings worldwide have seen surges in attendance, with Jewish teens leading grassroots initiatives including the #LightForSydney and #ShareTheLights social media campaigns.
Public menorah lightings were introduced over fifty years ago after the Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged bringing Chaukah, a celebration of religious freedom, into public spaces. Today, such lightings take place at over 15,000 prominent venues worldwide.
The Nets Chaukah celebration builds on a tradition of Chabad menorah lightings at major sporting events that began in 1987 at Joe Robbie Stadium. CTeen has previously organized ceremonies at Sunday Night Football games and SoFi Stadium.
The Nets roster includes Israeli rookies Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf, whose presence has inspired young Jews that they don’t need to compromise their faith to achieve their dreams.
“Tonight we saw the next generation refuse to be intimidated,” said Rabbi Shimon Rivkin, Director of CTeen International at Merkos 302. “Despite the tremendous pain, we cannot lose hope; the future of the Jewish people is bright, and these teens are leading the way.”
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