FACT CHECK: Yes, Jews Have Been Attacked During Hanukkah

A post shared on X claimed that terrorists do not target Hanukkah markets.

How come terrorists never drive a car through a Hanukah market?

— Leonarda Jonie (@leonardaisfunE) December 20, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

Jews have been attacked during Hanukkah, such as Dec. 2019.

Fact Check:

Five people were killed and 200 were injured when a driver rammed his car through a Christmas market in Germany, according to The New York Times.

Social media users claimed that terrorists never drove their car through a Hanukah market. One user wrote, “How come terrorists never drive a car through a Hanukah market?” (RELATED: Does This Video Show Netanyahu Getting Attacked?)

This claim is misleading. Check Your Fact could not find an instance of anybody ramming their car through a Hanukkah market. However, Jews have been attacked on Hanukkah. For instance, five Jews were stabbed when a man invaded a rabbi’s home during a Hanukkah celebration in Dec. 2019, according to The Associated Press.

Jews have been attacked in synagogues. For instance, 11 people were killed when a gunman attacked the Tree of Life synagogue in Oct. 2018, according to The New York Times. The gunman was convicted in 2023 on charges related to that massacre.

Furthermore, Jews have been targeted by car attacks. For example, a man attempted to run over multiple people outside of a New York City Jewish Orthodox school, where he allegedly yelled anti-Semitic slurs, in May 2024, according to NBC News.

Another example includes a New Jersey man who was sentenced to 40 years in prison for attempting to murder Jews with a car, according to the Department of Justice. All the “victims were attired in traditional garments worn by members of the Orthodox Jewish community and were assaulted because they were visibly identifiable Orthodox Jews,” per the DOJ.