Bondi – from shared shock and horror to greater understanding

Like so many in our community, I have been both surprised at the outpouring of shock and horror by non-Jewish friends, work colleagues and the community at large, and also bitterly disappointed by some of the complete silence from those who I had expected more.

Having taken time to understand my own response to this tragedy, and hearing from many people speak to this massacre, I decided that I needed to help people I know, my colleagues at work, that there is a context to what happened in Bondi.  Not a political analysis, but actually how the small Jewish community in Australia actually lives day-to-day.

I am fortunate to work in a caring Australian Not for Profit, Infoxchange, whose byline is “Technology for Social Justice.” So it was no surprise when our CEO, David Spriggs, posted the statement below in an all staff email at 7:48AM on Monday 15th Dec:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by the horrific terrorism attack in Sydney overnight.  The Prime Minister has condemned the Bondi Beach attack as an “act of evil antisemitism” targeting Australia’s Jewish community, declaring the nation will never submit to “division, violence or hatred”.

“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith, an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation.”

We stand with all Jewish Australians and all those impacted directly and indirectly by the attack.

Please check in with and support your colleagues during this incredibly difficult time – and feel able to make whatever adjustments you need to your work commitments today.  If you need to cancel meetings or appointments do so, but please let your manager know so that adjustments can be made and you can be supported.

I wrote a short response note back to all staff:

Celebrating the first night of Chanukah – a holiday that is about the right of Jews to live and celebrate their religion openly and safely – has brought to this ‘night of light’ a depth of darkness not known to us in Australia.

We know this does not represent Australia today. This vile act of terror by a few will not stop those of us who believe in community harmony and freedom of expression of religion and cultural heritage.

I was overwhelmed by how many staff reached out to me (and other Jewish colleagues) with love and shock.

Then, last Friday 19 Dec, David posted a follow up in another all staff email:

I know that we are still in disbelief and shock at the events that unfolded at Bondi Beach on Sunday.

We stand together as a community in rejecting antisemitism, division, violence and hatred of any kind – and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all those impacted directly and indirectly by these horrific acts of terror.

I took the opportunity to go beyond the shared shock and horror to give people a greater understanding of what Jewish life has been like in Australia.  This is what I wrote:

David,

Thank you again for your words of support.  And thank you to the many colleagues who have reached out since last Sunday to express their shared grief and horror and their sympathy and empathy for what happened – the worst terror attack on Australian soil at an icon of Australia – motivated by antisemitism.

I want to share with you some things about the Australian Jewish community that you may not know.  I share this, not to try and make it sound like we are special, we are not, but to give you all some context around how the massacre on Sunday is a double tragedy for us – both as Australians and Jews.

1. Melbourne has the highest population of Polish Holocaust survivors per capita outside of Israel. Personally, while my family came to Australia in the 1830s, I grew up in friends’ households where the tattoo from Auschwitz was visible on the arms of many of their parents.  For some their survival was too painful to discuss, for others the horror of what they endured was shared.

But for all, they truly felt that they had found a country of safety by coming to Australia.  Alex Kleytman was a Holocaust survivor who was murdered at Bondi last Sunday.

2. There are only 120,000 Jews in Australia, but since 9/11, on the advice of police and security experts, every Jewish kindergarten, primary school, high school, synagogue, library, community centre, museum etc has had guards.
3. Since Oct 7, 2023 – again on advice from police and security experts, not only do these guards now have carry guns but security cameras, blast proof glass, anti-ramming fences & bollards and double gates (first must close before you can open the second) have been installed.

Imagine walking your children into heavily fortified kindergarten or primary school and acting like this is somehow normal.

Imagine having your bags checked and a metal detector wand waved around you to enter a public theatre that was hired for the evening to host a musical event put on for the Jewish community.

Imagine trying to calm grandparents who are afraid for themselves and their families to wear anything that is visibly Jewish (a Star of David on a necklace, a schoolbag with Hebrew on it, etc) or to go to public events that celebrate a Jewish festival.

All of this was happening for years before Bondi.

For terror to then strike at the heart of multicultural Australia feels irreconcilable with the values that we all share.

How such hatred can exist that motivates someone to take aim with their guns at complete strangers because they are Jews, we would have said was beyond belief, until it wasn’t.  They shot at parents fleeing with prams, at a little 10 yr old girl called Matilda running for her life and at adults lying on top of children in a desperate act to save them.

The pain of Bondi will be with all Australians for a long time.  But as the headlines fade, the trauma of this tragedy on the small Jewish community (where almost everyone knows someone who was there) will remain for generations.  We have lost our sense of safety and freedom to express our cultural heritage in public, like any other Australian can.

For years, many people have visited memorial sites in Europe where the evils of the Holocaust occurred (over 3 million people of all races and religions visit Auschwitz each year), I never imagined that a memorial site for a massacre of Jews would be in Australia too.

What helps us all feel the capacity to rebuild after these events are the incredible actions of others on the beach who came to help.  While we have all seen the incredible bravery of Ahmed al Ahmed, there were many others – surf lifesavers, police, international tourists and beach lovers.  They are all heroes because they acted, putting humanity before personal safety.  This is our Australia.

May 2026 be filled with acts of love and kindness towards our fellow Australians – not only for those who go to bed hungry, sleep without a sense of home or safety, etc but also others who need us to stand up with them to fight discrimination when their indigeneity, gender or sexuality is challenged, their disability is ignored, or their faith is threatened.

I wish you all a happy, safe and relaxing break with family and friends.

Note: I should have added a request that everyone celebrate Hanukkah tonight by lighting candles, to express the hope that famous Holocaust survivor/write, Elie Weisel, once said: “I speak from experience that even in darkness, it is possible to create light and encourage compassion.”

A colleague immediately responded.  His email said: “I am in tears right now after reading your email Ric. I hope that next year brings light and Joy to you and your community as we all work our way though the horrible effects that will linger for a long, long time of this vile attack and tragedy.”

There is hope still.