For many years in my younger life, I wanted to leave Australia and live in the United States. It was my passion, my dream, my mishigoss. My late parents were distressed at my plans. What could you possibly expect there that’s better than here in Australia? they argued.

My mother and father, who arrived in Melbourne in 1951 after a harrowing odyssey from Nazi Vienna to the Shanghai Jewish ghetto, then after World War II, to a nascent, troubled Israel, saw...

For years we warned that the words we allow to fester would one day ignite. That the slogans painted across synagogues and Jewish schools, including “Gas the Jews” and swastikas, would not remain graffiti on walls but would one day become blood. We warned that when hatred is excused as opinion, when intimidation is tolerated as activism, when history is dismissed as politics, words turn into actions and actions turn into violence.

Now, fifteen of our brothers and sisters, children, mothers,...

Death and its handmaiden—grief

brought their mournful dirge to Bondi.

Today we grieve for little Matilda

and fourteen further slain;

scythed down for the sin

of being

Jewish.

And as we say mourner’s Kaddish, others clamour

for more of death’s

brazen horror—

“Globalise the Intifada” they chant,

                                              either by their reckoning

or for their God.

So I weep searing tears of sorrow

that things

have come to this pass

in our once

fair and pleasant land.

We’re not really in shock, as something sooner or later had to happen when you have a government like ours, but we are devastated and feel terribly sad with the loss of good people. We came to this country to be safe.

I am fortunate to work in a caring Not for Profit, Infoxchange, whose byline is “Technology for Social Justice”. So it was no surprise when our CEO, David Spriggs, posted a caring statement to all-staff email at 7:48AM on Monday 15/12/25. This is part of my response to him and to all the non-Jews who have reached out.

Thank you to the many colleagues who have reached out since last Sunday to express their shared grief and horror and their sympathy...

The joy, the horror

Children playing in the park

Chasing soap bubbles

Jewish Music playing

On louds speakers

Images of Chanukah

a festival of Light

on a giant screen

The quiet ocean

blue turquoise

The blue sky

the white clouds above

eating free donuts

playing with the baby animals

screams of joy –

and then the horror

the sound of fireworks

or bursting balloons -NO!

the policemen shout

get down run

Oh my God

this is gunfire

screams of horror and panic

Crouching down

behind the plastic chairs

we were sitting on

our faces in the Earth

Shema Yisrael

Adonai Eloheinu

Adonai Echad

I pray again and

aging and again

with...

I was immobilized, dazed, profoundly saddened by the massacre at Bondi Beach, a place I used to call home for many years. Since October 7, antisemitism has been allowed to fester by a lack of decisive, proactive political leadership. Social media outlets have provided an endless platform for lies about Jews, and misappropriation of terms, like describing Jews fleeing persecution...

Thank you TJI for this platform for us to communally grieve. It is especially important for those of us who are geographically distant from Bondi and physically far from a Jewish community we align with.

We are all hurting. Hurt can spawn anger and anger can give rise to blame and finger pointing in the urge to find rational reasons for traumatic events – whether these be bushfires, floods, or the terrible tragedy of Channukah in Bondi. Questions will need to...

May Abba Father shine his light on you all. My heart bleeds for you all. I was a nanny many years ago for a Jewish family at Vaucluse. Even though it has been decades, I still think of this family often. I have never met a person of the Jewish faith that I could call ‘not nice’. As a Christian, I believe that we are all God’s children and pray for peace and unity. God bless!

I made a magen david out of fairy lights in our apartment on Melbourne’s busy St Kilda Road. Anyone who passes can glimpse our Jewish pride.

I won’t pretend to be calm about this. I’m angry, so fucking angry at the failure of leadership we are witnessing. From the Prime Minister down, our government has been weak where it should have been firm, silent where it should have spoken, and morally confused at a moment that demanded clarity.
That failure has consequences and we have just witnessed them.

Albanese, Wong, Bourke and the Greens, the socialist scum and the Palestinian street army, including the bogus “Jewish Council”...

I share the anguish and anger of my fellow Jews. We are aware of growing antisemitism and the failures of some in authority to call it out. But to blame the Albanese government, as Prime Minister Netanyahu has, for the massacre in Bondi is not only irresponsible, it makes little sense.

That Australia, in common with most of the world, has recognised a Palestinian state, might upset the government in Jerusalem, but it is difficult to see how it leads to...

Shock, but not total surprise was my initial response to the shooting of these good Jewish people, gathering for Chanukah.

As a regional Jew, I’ve been touched by many people reaching out to me, the listening to one another that we have done in our local small Jewish community.

I strive with others for a world of reclaiming our caring as humans, building from a perspective that there are no human enemies. Needing to address destructive structures in our society that divide...

My heart goes out to all members of our community affected by yesterday’s abhorrent act of violence in Bondi beach.

Witnessing such horrific evil, the same kind that has tragically impacted myself personally, materialise in the very place we came seeking safety is deeply unsettling and leaves me feeling disoriented. This is especially true when it targets a community that has been incredibly generous, kind and successful among all Australians.

My prayers for all those we lost and speedy recovery for those...

Last Sunday my children were swimming with their Dad (Huw) at Bondi when bullets began firing on and killing innocent Sydneysiders celebrating Hanukkah. Thankfully, my family are safe. They ran from the bullets striking the waves nearby and sheltered under the sea wall. Once our kids were secured, and despite his desire to stay with them, Huw, like every other police officer present, ran towards the threat, hoping to stop it. He was only in his board shorts;...

The Indian Crescent Society of Australia expresses its deepest condolences to the victims, survivors, and families affected by the tragic violence at Bondi Beach.

We unequivocally condemn this horrific and shocking act of cowardice. Violence has no place in our society, and attacks on public spaces strike at the very heart of community safety and trust.

We stand in solidarity with the...

I am disgusted that this scum could perpetrate such an atrocity on our shores. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the dead and injured. We are at a critical time for our community because if there is not a massive shift in sentiment in Australia in terms of allowing this racism to fester then we are lost.

Most Australians are unhappy with the antisemitism and pro-radical sentiment that is so prevalent, but until they realise that if...

Bad news travels fast and travels far. Very soon after the horrible event on Bondi Beach I had news of it in Antarctica and was absolutely gutted. There are a few Jewish people on board the Sylvia Earle, in fact many more than I might have imagined and some of them from the Eastern suburbs of Bondi with family within ear shot of Bondi Beach.

Needless to say, there was a lot of emotion among those of us who were touched...

I cannot stop crying reading the beautiful words told here. Thank you to The Jewish Independent for helping me understand some of this, but in truth, it feels surreal.

I lived in Bondi many years ago, across the road from the beach. For a young Jewish man living there, it was magical, one of the most glorious places to be.

I am so very angry and upset, isolated by being far from Sydney, but I am heartened by the outpouring of love...

My deepest condolences to the Australian Jewish Community after this devastating terrorist anti- semitic attack on a community peacefully and joyfully celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach . News reports say that 11 people were gunned down and many more were injured in this horrific atrocity that is intolerable in any civilized society . May their memories be a blessing .

Words fail to describe the horror inflicted on a people of faith who were simply celebrating Hanukkah.

Our focus now is on the innocent victims who have lost their lives and the injured, and their families. We pray for the victims affected by this gruesome tragedy and to strengthen the patience in their hearts.

At times like this, it is easy to lose hope and doubt humanity. When people of faith come under attack in such a devastating manner, it shows us...

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...

Like all Australians, we are in shock and deeply saddened by the tragic events in Bondi. What happened yesterday has shaken our city, and our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected. Bondi is a special part of Sydney – a place that so many of us feel connected to in one way or another – and this tragedy has been felt right across our community.

On behalf of everyone at Sydney FC – from our players and coaches...

My heart is weeping, and it won’t stop. I set out more than 40 years ago to make a difference in the way leaders lead. I became an accomplished organisational consultant, trainer, and coach in global organisational change.

My heart is weeping because we are constantly experiencing a profound lack of authentic leadership in this fantastic country. We deserve (and pay for) better from our current range of corporate, civic, and political leaders. The most fundamental 101 principle of leadership is...

My family’s deepest condolences over this heinous event. There is no easy solution but certain steps may be taken to exact a price for such actions and the less said the better.

We write to you from Israel with heavy hearts and deep emotion following the recent terrorist attack that struck your community.

As senior executives from Israel’s private sector, currently participating in an initiative to contribute our experience and leadership to the public sector, we felt it was essential to reach out ,not only as professionals, but first and foremost as members of one people.

Since October 7, the Jewish community of Australia has stood with Israel with strength, courage, generosity, and moral...

To all our friends – Thank you

Within minutes of the shocking news breaking across Sydney on the evening of Sunday 14 December, the first flowers appeared at the gates of The Great Synagogue on Elizabeth Street – simple, heartfelt gestures of support, solidarity and love.

Over the week, the number of floral tributes grew and by week’s end, hundreds of beautiful...

The Rozana Australia family is struggling to comprehend the appalling events of Sunday evening in Bondi, Sydney. While we may never fully understand the twisted ideology that motivated the perpetrators of this vile and indiscriminate act of terror, we do know that their clear and deliberate target was a gathering of members of Sydney’s Jewish community — gathered to celebrate one of Judaism’s most meaningful festivals, Channukah: the Jewish Festival of Light and Freedom.

This was an attack on the freedom...

Pillars of Light Chanukah celebration in Federation Square, Melbourne a day after the Bondi massacre

Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall. Over the last few years, Australia has turned from a paradise to a nightmare for parts of the Jewish community. Synagogues were burned, Jews were attacked and harassed on...

This appalling act of violence, which targeted the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah, has shaken many of us and has caused immense pain, fear, and grief.

Our hearts are with everyone impacted by this terrible attack, with the loved ones of those who were killed, with those who continue to battle for their lives, and especially with the Jewish community.

We recognise the profound trauma such acts inflict, not only on individuals and families, but on entire communities who...

The Festival of Light celebrates Jewish resilience when confronted with darkness.

We mourn the lives lost, hold those injured in our thoughts, and extend our deepest compassion to the families and loved ones whose lives have been forever changed.

At a time of profound grief, we are reminded why our mission – to educate in order to combat hate and foster tolerance – matters so deeply. More than ever, this work is vital to ensuring that Australia remains the place of safety,...

We honour the victims of the horrendous attack that occured on Sunday. We honour the good in our community and condemn all hatred. We stand as a community united.

No words can fully express the shock and horror felt by our community concerning the antisemitic violence that occurred at Bondi Beach. We regard an attack against the Jewish community as an attack against all Australians, and we stand resolute in demonstrating this commitment to unity across the nation.

​We are actively planning meaningful actions and initiatives in the coming days to further show our support and will be with you and your community every step of the way as you...

I am broken hearted and lost for words. But I will say this: I stand with our Jewish community, I stand with Jews everywhere; I stand with the people of Israel. I pray for peace for all of us. 🕊️🕎 ✡️

This is Australia’s Oct 7 moment. It is unthinkable that the shooters could take up and command such a vantage, for so long on such an occasion. It is unthinkable that gun licenses are awarded to an individual with such close ties to organisations of hatred, effectively death cults. It is unthinkable that Australians cannot be safe at Australia’s most...

After the last 2 years of attacks and incitement we are not shocked.

This is what chanting “Globalize the Intifada” brings.

15 dead in our community. More hurt. Police injured.

One of the murderers dead thank goodness.

In our small community we are all family and are waiting for news.

This so enraging.

We do so much to organise our communal security and yet this happens.

No other community has to have guards at places of worship, kindergartens, schools, aged homes, communal buildings and events.

It is outrageous.

No...

We are a Jewish family with a large beautiful oceanfront home in North Carolina. Come celebrate the holidays with your family free of any fear of threat. We have 16 bedrooms and can sleep 50 people. Southern Charm of Holden Beach, NC. 2 hours from Raleigh, NC
910-690-4102

It was very sad and brutal crime.

We ll continue to live and spread love and humanity.

Wish you happy Hanukkah

As a Syrian living in Canada, my heart is deeply broken by this horrific attack. It should always be remembered as a shameful failure of world leaders and politicians who allow hatred and antisemitism to spread and target Jewish communities. I stand in solidarity with Israel and with the Jewish people in this painful moment. Please accept my sincere condolences. I wish you a meaningful and peaceful Hanukkah stay strong.

I’ve been moved by the outpouring of grief, condolences and solidarity from Australia to the Jewish community, including from our institutions of every kind and at every level.

At this stage to blame anyone besides the two shooters themselves for the antisemitic massacre is horribly wrong and dangerous. Accusations and insinuations from the lips of those who are supposed to be our Jewish leaders, and booing of the PM from many at the memorial last night, fill me with shame.

In the...

Antisemitic speech and rhetoric is not new to me.
In my view, lack of antisemitism is a historical anomaly.
The lack of overt antisemitism in this goldene medina of Australia 1950-2023 was beautiful but anomalous.
(Ihave lived here for a mere 20 years)

What is not anomalous is the evident and repeated history of Jewish resilience since forever.
Jews may have left judaism. Jews may have been marginalized. Jews may have been murdered.
But Judaism and Jews have endured.
We have...

I am Jewish.

Not religious. Not observant. Simply Jewish.

A word so small, yet heavy with consequence. Six letters – something inherited at birth – that somehow marks me as different in spaces where I am otherwise the same.

Until recently, my ‘Jewishness’ expressed itself quietly: lighting the menorah during Chanukah, the occasional Shabbat, a deep sense of community and belonging, and wearing a Star of David necklace as an ordinary symbol of identity. ‘Until recently’ are the key words.

Last year, walking through...

I am saddened for the Jewish community and the innocent families celebrating at the beach. I wish this didn’t happen to them.

As a Jewish father with a Jewish son who is still too young to understand what happened at Bondi Beach, I ask myself what I will say when he is old enough to ask.
I imagine telling him that being Jewish means choosing life even when others worship death. That our history is heavy, but it is also a record of moral stubbornness. That we do not disappear when the world grows hostile. But I also imagine telling him something...

Just over a year ago, I stood on a stage in front of 10,000 people at an October 7 remembrance event, alongside fellow young Jewish leaders. At the time, I was a youth movement leader, carrying the responsibility of the role and the collective voice of a generation navigating grief, fear, and uncertainty. Speaking to that audience, I reflected on the resilience of our community, the challenges we faced, and the role young people play in shaping its future.

Since October...

At the university where I teach in Melbourne, I often picture a group of young men walking toward a lecture theatre, sitting in a campus café, or addressing a student assembly; and then imagine them wearing kippot. Can anyone guarantee they wouldn’t receive even a strange stare, let alone harassment, social exclusion, or students turning their backs on them when they speak? Universities have seen a rise in antisemitism, expressed in different ways but in line with and echoing the...

Never has the mission to build bridges, demystify Jews and Judaism, defeat the evil of “othering” and work towards a healthier social landscape in Australia been more important. In that context the ACT Jewish Community is overwhelmingly committed to pursuing a National Holocaust Memorial Education Centre (NHMEC) in our nation’s capital, using committed federal funding and additional funding through community efforts.

Canberra is the only capital in the free world that doesn’t have a Holocaust related institution. This should be remedied...

It was in October 2024 that I wrote what I called THE KNIFE.
I had recently returned from Israel where I had spent time in the Gaza envelope bearing witness to one of the most horrendous massacres our people has endured in modern Israel. I was shattered and had no words.

On Rosh Hashana the following September I studied the story of the Akeda – the binding of Isaac as we do every year. This year the story took on a...

We took this photo at a spontaneous Chanukah gathering in Jerusalem last night.

The Imam Hassan Centre stands in firm support with the Jewish community across Australia. Words fail to describe the horror inflicted on a people of faith who were simply celebrating Hanukkah.

Our focus now is on the innocent victims who have lost their lives and the injured and their families. We pray for the victims affected by this gruesome tragedy and...

Our best wishes are with you. You are so strong you will beat this .

My experience is deep sadness, for the Jewish comunity, then all Australians for this appalling and senseless outrage. I am angry at the timidity and anti-Israel bias of our politicians, media and universities in allowing and encouraging the massacre, let alone the entirely deranged Free Palestine movement. Is this what they had in mind al along? And fear for all of us, unless we use this moment as a radical turning point away from hate.

Written just days before the Bondi Beach massacre happened and not submitted anywhere.

I am at Wolper Jewish Hospital in Sydney’s east for hydrotherapy. Both its staff and patients come from multiethnic backgrounds.

But now, security guards in flak jackets are patrolling. They carry heavy revolvers. A war zone? Not really, just caused by one far away.

Our prime minister has often moaned:...

It is time to ask the Muslim community in Australia where it stands in relation to such atrocities as occurred at Bondi Beach.

If it expresses anything other than utter condemnation, or if it chooses to remain silent (and we know the consequences of silence!), then we need to ask if a religion that cannot completely reject the Jihadist death cult that speaks and acts in its name belongs in Australia or, indeed, in today’s world.

This is not an expression of...

I wasn’t at Bondi, and didn’t grow up there, but Bondi has lived in me for years because it’s right near where my grandparents, both survivors, lived.

What hurts most is not only the violence, but the way grief now comes with conditions. The way Jewish mourning is so quickly redirected elsewhere, or folded into arguments that have nothing to do with the people who were killed. In moments like this, you learn who is allowed to be simply human.

And yet,...

Osseh shalom – praying for peace

About 300 people came to this event tonight in Jerusalem, including 51 students visiting from Kesser Torah College in Sydney

It wasn’t an attack just on ‘people’; it was an attack on Jews. And to the killers it wouldn’t matter one hoot whether they killed Australian Jews, Argentinian Jews, American Jews or any other.
Memorial speeches, candle-lighting and being held in an embrace is all well and good, but I want to see Islamic extremists held in handcuffs.

To whom it may concern,
To the families affected,
And to the leaders of Australia,

I write this letter with profound sadness following the horrific massacre at Bondi Beach. My first and deepest thoughts are with the victims and their families, whose pain and loss are beyond words. No message can ease such grief, but my heart and prayers are with you.

I am an Australian Jew who lived in Australia for many years before leaving the country three years ago. I...