The Australia we have lost

Today, we are grieving.

We are grieving for the lives taken and the lives forever altered by the brutal, antisemitic terror attack at Chanukah by the Sea in Bondi. We are grieving with the Jewish
community that should have felt safe and instead was confronted with terror. We are grieving for the Australia we have lost.

With this eruption of violence against the Jewish community, ordinary life was shattered in an instant and we are forced to confront a painful truth: the erosion of humanity, dignity and safety in our own backyard. When violence targets religious and cultural gatherings, spaces meant for celebration, identity, and community, it does more than harm individuals; it fractures our collective sense of safety and belonging. The protection of our communities is not optional; it is fundamental.

At the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, we carry the stories of people whose lives were destroyed by hatred and violence. Every day, we bear witness to where such acts can lead when they are allowed to take root in our societies. That history is not abstract to us; it lives in the voices of survivors, in the names etched into memory, and in the testimonies passed through generations.

The tragedy in Bondi is relevant to every Australian. It is a stark reminder why we must continue to learn; not as a ritual of the past, but as a responsibility to the present. We cannot become complacent. We cannot accept violence as inevitable. We cannot allow hatred, in any form, to be normal.

We stand with the victims, the injured, the police, the first responders, and with the Sydney Jewish Community. In the face of terror and hate, we reaffirm our commitment to the values that history has taught us are essential: compassion, vigilance, humanity, and an unwavering defense of democratic values.

May we honour those lost not only with thoughts and words, but with action; by choosing empathy over indifference, and humanity over hate.