Thousands of mourners gather on Bondi Beach to honor victims of anti-Semitic attack

Thousands of mourners gathered under tight police security on Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday night to mark a week since two gunmen attacked a Jewish festival. killed 15 people. Australian governments have since been prompted to act on countering antisemitism and pressing now strict national gun controls.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his predecessors John Howard and Scott Morrison, and Governor-General Sam Mostyn, who represents Australia’s head of state, King Charles III, were among dignitaries at the commemoration that attracted more than 10,000 people.

“This has to be the nadir of anti-Semitism in our country,” New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip told the crowd. “This has to be the moment when the light begins to eclipse the darkness.”

The crowd booed Albanese when Ossip acknowledged his presence. Opposition leader Sussan Ley, who had said a Conservative government led by her would reverse a decision made this year by Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party government of recognize a Palestinian statewas applauded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at Albanese for the attack on the Hannukah celebration, saying that “his call for a Palestinian state adds fuel to the anti-Semitic fire.” Netanyahu has repeatedly tried to link widespread calls for a Palestinian state and criticism of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza following the 2023 Hamas attack to rising incidents of anti-Semitism around the world.

A National Day of Reflection to honor the victims

During the commemoration, images of the victims, aged between 10 and 87, were projected. “Waltzing Matilda” was sung in honor of the youngest victim, whose Ukrainian parents gave their Australian-born daughter what they described as the most Australian name they knew.

A widely acclaimed hero of the massacre, Ahmed al-Ahmedsent a message of support from his hospital bed. In a video that has been viewed millions of times around the world, the Syrian-born immigrant was seen tackling one of the gunmensnatching the shotgun from the man and pointing it at the attacker. On Tuesday, Albanese said that “Ahmed al Ahmed represents the best of our country.”

“The Lord is close to those who have a broken heart. Today I am with you, my brothers and sisters,” he wrote.

His father, Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed, was invited to light a candle in the Jewish candelabra known as a menorah on the last night of Hannukah.

Beyond the famous beach, people across Australia joined Sydney’s stricken Jewish community by lighting candles and holding a minute’s silence in their homes at 6.47pm to remember the moment the massacre unfolded. Radio and television networks across Australia were also silent.

The New South Wales federal and state governments declared a National Day of Reflection on Sunday to commemorate the worst mass shooting in Australia since 35 people were killed in the state of Tasmania in 1996.

Albanese had previously announced a review of federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies following last week’s attack, which was inspired by the Islamic State group.

Indigenous leaders held a traditional smoking ceremony on Sunday morning at the waterfront Bondi Pavilion, where a makeshift memorial has grown as flowers and heartfelt messages pile up. The monument will be vacated on Monday.

Mostyn, the governor-general, accepted an invitation from the National Council of Jewish Women for women of all faiths to lay a wreath at the memorial on Sunday morning. Hundreds of women and girls dressed in white joined her in making the gesture.

He later delivered a message from the British monarch saying he and Queen Camilla were “horrified and saddened by the most terrible anti-Semitic attack on the Jewish people: the Hannukah celebration on Bondi Beach.”

Tight security at Bondi Beach

One of the suspects, Naveed Akram, 24, was shot by police. He has been charged with 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder the injured. His father, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene.

The Department of Health said 13 of those injured in Bondi remained in Sydney hospitals on Sunday.

Police beefed up security around Bondi on Sunday, including officers armed with rifles. There was criticism that the first police officers who responded last week were armed only with Glock pistols, which did not have the lethal range of the attackers’ shotguns and rifles. Two police officers were seriously injured.

Flags flew at half-mast on Sydney Harbor Bridge and government buildings, which were illuminated yellow on Sunday night in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chair Alex Ryvchin said victims’ families were “tragically and unforgivably disappointed” by the government’s failure to combat the growth of antisemitism in Australia since the war between Israel and Hamas began in 2023.

A day after the attack, an emergency meeting of federal and state leaders pledged to tighten the nation’s gun laws with measures that included limiting the number of guns an individual can own. Sajid Akram legally owned six weapons, including the two shotguns and two bolt-action rifles used in Bondi.

The New South Wales state parliament will meet on Monday to debate new hate speech and weapons bills.