melbourne, australia
AP
—
Thousands of mourners gathered under tight police security at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday night to mark a week since two gunmen killed 15 people during a Jewish festival. Since then, the Australian government has ramped up efforts to combat anti-Semitism and tighten the country’s already strict gun laws.
More than 10,000 people attended the commemorative ceremony, which was attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his predecessors John Howard and Scott Morrison, and Governor-General Sam Mostyn, who represents Australian Head of State Charles III.
“This has to be the nadir of anti-Semitism in our country,” David Ossip, president of the Jewish Parliamentary Association of New South Wales, told the audience. “This must be the moment when the light begins to cover the darkness.”
When Osip acknowledged Albanese’s presence, the audience booed Albanese. Opposition leader Susan Lee was cheered after she said her Conservative government would reverse the decision taken this year by Albanese’s centre-left Labor government to recognize a Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Albanians over the attack on the Hanukkah festival, saying: “Your call for a Palestinian state adds fuel to the fire of anti-Semitism.” Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly sought to link his widespread calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state and criticism of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza after the 2023 Hamas attack to rising anti-Semitic incidents around the world.
At the memorial service, footage of the victims, who ranged in age from 10 to 87, was shown. “Waltzing Matilda” was sung in honor of the youngest victim. The victim’s Ukrainian parents said they gave their Australian-born daughter the most Australian name they knew.
Widely admired genocide hero Ahmed al-Ahmed sent a message of support from his hospital bed. The Syrian-born immigrant was shot dead after snatching a shotgun from one of the gunmen.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. Today, my brothers and sisters, I stand with you,” he wrote.
His father, Mohammed Fateh al-Ahmed, was invited to light a candle in a Jewish menorah, known as a menorah, on the last night of Hanukkah.
Across the famous beach, people from across Australia stood in solidarity with Sydney’s affected Jewish community, lighting candles in their homes at 6:47pm and observing a minute’s silence to remember the moment the massacre occurred. Television and radio networks across Australia also went silent.
The federal and New South Wales governments have declared Sunday a national day of reflection to commemorate Australia’s worst mass shooting since 1996, when 35 people were killed in Tasmania.
Albanese had earlier announced a review of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the wake of last week’s Islamic State-inspired attacks.
Indigenous leaders held a traditional smoking ceremony at Bondi Pavilion on the waterfront on Sunday morning. There, flowers and heartfelt messages piled up and an impromptu memorial grew. The monument is scheduled to be removed on Monday.
Governor Mostyn accepted an invitation from the National Council of Jewish Women for women of all faiths to lay flowers at the monument on Sunday morning. Hundreds of women and girls dressed in white joined her gesture.
She then relayed a message from the British monarch, saying he and Queen Camilla were “appalled and saddened by the most appalling anti-Semitic attack on Jews at the Hanukkah festival at Bondi Beach.”
One of the suspects, Naveed Akram, 24, was shot dead by police. He is charged with 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of causing harm with intent to kill in relation to the injured person. Her father, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene.
The Department of Health said 13 of those injured at Bondi remained in Sydney hospitals on Sunday.
Police increased security around Bondi on Sunday, including officers with rifles. There was criticism last week that police first responders were armed only with Glock pistols and did not have the lethal range of the attacker’s shotgun or rifle. Two police officers were seriously injured.
Sydney Harbor Bridge and government buildings were flown at half-staff and lit yellow on Sunday night in solidarity with the Jewish community.
Australian Jewish Executive Council co-chair Alex Rivchin said victims’ families were left with a “tragic and unforgivable disappointment” at the government’s failure to respond to the rise in anti-Semitism in Australia since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in 2023.
The day after the attack, an emergency meeting of federal and state leaders pledged to tighten gun control in the country, including limiting the number of guns a person can own. Sajid Akram legally owned six guns, including the two shotguns and two bolt-action rifles used at Bondi.
The New South Wales Parliament will sit on Monday to consider new hate speech and gun conscription legislation.
