The Associated Press
ASSOCIATED PRESS Boulder, Colorado - 15 December 2025 1. Mid of menorah lighting 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Yitzchok Moully, rabbi and artist: ++STARTS ON SHOT 1 AND PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOT 3++ "My son woke us up at 4 o'clock in the morning to share the news and it was horrific and unfolding and there's no words, there's really no words. My son was supposed to be there, he's studying in South Africa, but he was supposed to be studying in Sydney, so it's very possible that he was there and a friend of his is one of the victims, he's in hospital in critical condition. So this touches very close to home and it's incredibly painful. And we can feel hopeless, but really our response to all this darkness is more light and no time more than Hanukkah is to spread light. And that's what's happening here tonight, 500 plus people came out the Boulder where there was a terrorist attack right here. And we're sharing our light. We're standing strong, we're standing proud as a Jewish community. And we are going to fight darkness with light.” 3. Various people at event 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Cheryl Fellows, event volunteer: ++PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOT 5++ "So it's important for all of us in the community to show up, and to be public about who we are, and to show that we're not afraid, and to show our resilience. It's important that we do that both for our elders and for our children.” 5. Wide of people at event, children playing STORYLINE: At the spot earlier this year where a man hurled fiery Molotov cocktails at people demonstrating in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza, members of the Jewish community in Boulder, Colorado, gathered to light a dramatic new menorah. The theme of the ceremony was “flames of love” -- in response to the June 1 attack that killed an 82-year-old woman and injured 12 others. Yitzchok Moully, a rabbi and artist, said he was inspired to create a 7-foot-tall (2-meter), stainless steel menorah for the community in Boulder following the firebombing. “We are here and we’re standing strong and we’re not cowering in the darkness,” said Moully, who is originally from Melbourne, Australia. The ceremony took place just a day after a deadly mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on a popular Australian beach. At least 15 people died in Sunday's attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which fueled criticism that Australian authorities were not doing enough to combat a surge in antisemitic crimes. Moully said his son was studying in Sydney and woke him in the early hours to tell him about the shooting. He said one of his son's friends was injured in the attack. "This touches very close to home and it's incredibly painful," he said. "We can feel hopeless, but really our response to all this darkness is more light and no time more than Hanukkah is to spread light.” In response to the attack, leading Jewish groups in the United States have been urging all Jewish organizations to ratchet up security measures at public events.