No, I am not okay

As calls and texts flooded in from friends around the world checking in about the Bondi Beach shooting, I was quick to let everyone know that fortunately my immediate family were all safe and not in the actual vicinity of the attack. We had planned to walk to the beach minutes later for candle lighting but were stopped in our tracks.

Hours later of trying to make sense of what had happened metres from where I swim most days, with rumours circulating about the dead and injured and the Australian news channels playing catch up, I realised I am not okay.

Over a year ago at Bondi Beach a man I didn’t know called me a baby killer for wearing a shirt with Hebrew on it. At the time it didn’t feel like there was anything that could be done in response to his aggressive behavior towards me and others, although apparently some people did call the police and he was encouraged to move on.

Recently, there was some ugly anti-Israel graffiti down at Bondi Beach. The police were quick to cordon it off and organize repainting so that it would not interfere or upset local residents, including the Jewish community that lives in the Eastern suburbs. At the time it felt a little too close for comfort and yet just one more incident in the countless antisemitic attacks that have been more and more prominent since October 7^th in both Australia and around the world.

Synagogues have been burnt down, as well as the kosher shop around the corner from where we live so it’s not totally shocking that it would end this way, in the brutal murder of over a dozen innocent civilians. The rhetoric, protests and graffiti seem to be allowed to escalate unchecked, but we all know there are consequences. Today made that blatantly clear.

An avid ocean swimmer, I joke that I am never leaving Bondi. I love being near the iconic beach, including the fish, rays, sharks and amazing swimming community I have discovered. A number of them were nearby when the attack occurred and as my swimming and Jewish chats exploded, everyone was outraged and saddened. Doctors and nurses amongst them went out of the local surf club just nearby to help the injured and were also shaken by what they encountered.