India on ‘High Alert’ for Risk of Antisemitic Violence Over Hanukkah By The Media Line Staff Indian intelligence agencies have issued a high-level security alert warning of potential terrorist attacks targeting Jewish institutions across the country. The message follows a deadly Hanukkah shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday that left at least 15 people dead and […]
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The Media Line: India on ‘High Alert’ for Risk of Antisemitic Violence Over Hanukkah
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India on ‘High Alert’ for Risk of Antisemitic Violence Over Hanukkah
By The Media Line Staff
Indian intelligence agencies have issued a high-level security alert warning of potential terrorist attacks targeting Jewish institutions across the country. The message follows a deadly Hanukkah shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday that left at least 15 people dead and 27 injured.
The advisory, circulated last week ahead of the Hanukkah period, has taken on heightened urgency following the attack in Australia.
According to intelligence assessments cited by local media, terrorist organizations are believed to be considering coordinated attacks on Jewish and Israeli-linked sites in major Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Security sources described the warnings as serious, prompting reinforced protective measures at identified locations.
Security agencies nationwide have been instructed to maintain heightened vigilance, with particular focus on Jewish places of worship, Israeli diplomatic facilities and residential areas known to house Jewish and Israeli communities. Surveillance has been expanded in several urban centers, and additional security personnel have been deployed at sensitive sites.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly condemned the attack in Australia, describing it as a horrific act of terrorism. He expressed condolences to the families of those killed and said India stands with Australia in mourning. Modi reiterated that India maintains zero tolerance for terrorism and supports international efforts to combat it in all forms.
The alert in India following the recent targeting of a Chabad institution in Sydney recalls the 2008 deadly terrorist attack on a Chabad house in Mumbai carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group. Six people were killed at the Chabad site, among them Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, along with Jewish visitors from Israel and the United States. Coordinated attacks carried out over several days at hotels, a train station and other civilian locations left more than 160 people dead and marked one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in India’s history.