‘Light over darkness’: Australia marks Day of Reflection for Bondi Hanukkah attack victims |
SYDNEY, Australia — Australians lit candles at 6:47 p.m. on Sunday (9:47 a.m. Israel time) to collectively commemorate the moment the first shots rang out a week earlier at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in an attack on a Jewish Hanukkah event that left 15 dead.
Vigils around the country and a main memorial ceremony at the beachside massacre site were set to take place Sunday, which the federal government and New South Wales state government declared a national Day of Reflection.
Exactly a week earlier, father and son gunmen opened fire on a gathering at Bondi Beach that had been planned to mark the first night of Hanukkah, in one of the worst antisemitic attacks in the Jewish Diaspora in decades. Those killed ranged in age from 10 to 87 and included two rabbis. Dozens more were injured, including some who remain hospitalized.
Australian authorities, who have been accused of not doing enough to protect the community from rising antisemitism, have ramped up patrols and policing across the country to prevent further antisemitic violence.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Sunday a review of the nation’s federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies following last week’s terror attack. Authorities believe the assailants were inspired by the Sunni Muslim terror group Islamic State, with flags of the group allegedly found in the car they took to Bondi.
Indigenous leaders held a traditional smoking ceremony on Sunday morning at the waterfront Bondi Pavilion, where an impromptu memorial has grown over the past week as flowers and heartfelt messages have accumulated. The memorial is to be cleared on Monday.
Federal and state authorities are in talks with Jewish community leaders about establishing a permanent memorial at Bondi Beach, as well as holding a national day of mourning in the new year.
Rabbi Levi Wolff expected thousands would gather at Bondi later Sunday to honor the victims and show solidarity for the Jewish community.
“Australians appreciate that this is an attack that wasn’t just against the Jewish people — we’re an easy target — but this is an attack on the Australian values and they will come here and they will stand together with us shoulder-to-shoulder as they have over the last week to tell the people in this country that there is no tolerance for hate.........