As 2025 draws to a close, a powerful symbol of solidarity shone from an unexpected place. On the evening of 19 December, Sydney's iconic St Mary's Cathedral was illuminated not with Christmas imagery, but with the glowing shape of a menorah. The poignant light show served as a tribute to the victims of the horrific attack at Bondi Beach, where just days earlier, a Hanukkah celebration had turned into a massacre.
A Brutal Year Tested Hope
For many, the task of finding hope at the end of this year felt particularly daunting. The brutality began with the news from Bondi, where 15 people were killed and dozens more injured, most of them Jewish people marking the festival of lights. This came barely ten weeks after the deadly assault on the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur. For Jewish communities worldwide, the simple act of gathering in joy or sorrow felt fraught with mortal risk.
Yet, the very essence of Hanukkah is about finding light in the deepest darkness. And in the pitch black of the Sydney attack, multiple points of light emerged through acts of breathtaking courage.
Instincts of Bravery in Moments of Terror
The world has rightly celebrated the heroism of Ahmed al-Ahmed, a passerby who, unarmed, tackled one of the two attackers and wrested a gun from him. In that instant, he dismantled the hateful ideology that motivated the killers, proving that humanity transcends division.
He was not alone. Footage revealed retired couple Boris and Sofia Gurman, both in their 60s, bravely tussling with a gunman. Boris momentarily wrestled the attacker to the ground, but the assailant produced a second weapon, shooting and killing the couple. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Chaya Dadon made the ultimate sacrifice of safety. Hearing a mother's desperate plea, she left her hiding spot under a bench to shield the woman's children with her own body, saving them before being shot in the leg.
These were not calculated acts, but immediate, instinctive responses that revealed an unfathomable depth of courage. They stand as a defiant beacon of hope.
Courage in the Face of Prolonged Conflict
This spirit of bravery is not confined to single moments of terror. It endures in the grinding reality of prolonged conflict. The people of Ukraine have shown relentless fortitude under nearly four years of Russian bombardment. In Sudan, the city of El Fasher has become a slaughterhouse, with humanitarian observers reporting streets heaped with bodies and over 150,000 residents missing.
In Gaza, Palestinians demonstrate immense bravery merely by enduring. After two years of Israeli bombardment following the Hamas attacks of October 2023, with neighbourhoods obliterated and a staggering death toll, survival itself is an act of courage. Even more audacious are those who dare to protest against Hamas rule. An Amnesty International report in May detailed how hundreds faced interrogations and beatings for demonstrating, with public executions reported after the ceasefire.
Individuals like Sharone Lifschitz embody a different, profound bravery. After her parents were seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October 2023—her father later confirmed killed—she campaigned not only for the hostages' return but also tirelessly for an end to the war and for Palestinian justice, even when it put her at odds with many fellow Israelis.
Courage also flourishes in civic and personal battles far from war zones. It is seen in the Indiana Republicans who defied Donald Trump, or in Scottish parents Ros and Mark Dowey taking on Meta over their son's death. It was palpable in the public inquiry into undercover policing, where women deceived into relationships with officers showed decades of resilience in hunting for the truth.
As columnist Jonathan Freedland reflects, having written about anti-Nazi resisters in his book The Traitors Circle, such extraordinary courage is not a relic of the past. It lives on, all around us, lighting up the dark. In a brutal year, these heroes—from Sydney to Sudan—remind us that the human capacity for bravery and compassion remains our most powerful source of light.
