"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is fighting a battle for the 'survival of civilisation', as he addressed soldiers during a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Monday, a day after the Bondi Beach attack. “We are fighting today the battle that the Maccabees fought. They fought for the survival of the Jewish people and the Jewish faith against an enemy that wanted to extinguish us, wipe us out from the face of the earth,” Netanyahu said. “We were fighting our battle, but we were also fighting the battle of civilisation, because our civilisation is based on the Judeo-Christian tradition. And if the Maccabees had failed, there'd be no Judaism. There would be no Judeo-Christian civilisation. There would be no Huckabees. There would be no United States. There wouldn't be the civilisation of freedom.” Netanyahu said the same spirit drives Israeli soldiers as they engage threats across multiple arenas. “This spirit is what drives our soldiers who are fighting in Gaza or in Lebanon or Iran, wherever it is necessary, to not only preserve the Jewish nation and the Jewish state but also preserve civilisation against the barbarians.” He also linked the conflict in the Middle East to antisemitic violence abroad, citing the recent attack in Australia. “They did a horrible thing to us on October 7 [...] They're doing it against Jews in Sydney, Jews in America and elsewhere. This is our common battle against the barbarians. We won it here. We are winning it here. And we will win it everywhere.” Netanyahu’s remarks followed a terrorist attack during a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which left 16 dead. Australian police later identified the attackers as father and son Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while his son was arrested and remains in custody."