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Paul Lewis knows Bondi Beach well.

He spent 24 years living in and around the Sydney neighborhood, running along the beach nearly every day before work or school. So, when Lewis woke up Sunday morning, Dec. 14 in St. Louis to news of a deadly antisemitic attack at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, the shock was immediate.

“It felt like another Oct. 7,” Lewis said. “I turned on the Israeli news and they were talking about Sydney, Australia and Bondi. I spent 24 years in Bondi. I ran down that beach every single day. My family is devastated.”

Lewis, who is Australian-born and now lives in St. Louis, still has family in Australia. As details emerged, he began hearing from relatives and friends who were in the area at the time of the attack.

“I know that community,” he said. “I know exactly where it is. I used to run across that bridge every single day to run down along the sand and swim before study or before work.”

Lewis said his sister was at a restaurant along Campbell Parade, which runs parallel to the beach, when the attack occurred.

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“People ran screaming, running past,” he said. “They just picked up and left.”

Lewis later shared his reaction publicly in a social media post, writing that he grew up in Bondi and woke up to the devastation of Jewish lives lost while celebrating Hanukkah.

The attack, which killed 15 people during a public Hanukkah celebration organized by Chabad of Bondi, reverberated through Jewish communities in Australia and around the world. Vigils were held across the country, and public Hanukkah celebrations continued globally, many under increased security.

In St. Louis, Lewis said he felt a need to be present in the Jewish community.

On Sunday night, he attended the public menorah lighting downtown, his first time doing so.

“I didn’t bring gloves with me, and my hands were frozen,” Lewis said. “But I was really glad that I was there. I actually needed it for myself. It was good to be amongst everybody.”

More than 200 people attended despite frigid temperatures. Lewis said the turnout stood out, given the fear many Jews feel about gathering publicly.

“I find the Jewish community in America — no disrespect — but certainly not as resilient as Israelis are,” he said. “There’s fear and concern about gathering in spaces during these times.”

Seeing that level of participation, he said, felt like a response to terrorism itself.

“It’s our time to shine because our enemies want the opposite for us,” Lewis said.

Lewis has lived in several countries, including Israel, where he spent 14 years, and said distance does not lessen the impact of Jewish loss.

“I’m also Israeli, and any loss of Jewish life is a loss,” he said.

Lewis moved to St. Louis three years ago after living in Atlanta and Israel. A short visit during the pandemic became permanent after he met his wife, who is from St. Louis.

Standing among the crowd Sunday night, Lewis said the moment reinforced the importance of showing up.

“I was really glad that I was there,” he said. “I needed it.”