From Sydney to Jerusalem, Jewish unity confronts terror, demands accountability, and rejects global appeasement of hatred.
Thousands gathered Sunday morning at Bondi Beach to mark one week since the brutal terrorist attack that murdered 15 members of Sydney’s Jewish community and to light the eighth Hanukkah candle. The vigil unfolded under extraordinary security—mounted police, snipers, and hundreds of officers—reflecting the gravity of the threat facing Jews worldwide.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended the rally, where anger and grief converged. Protesters voiced deep frustration at what they see as official failure to confront rising antisemitism and extremist incitement. Community leaders stressed that symbolic gestures are insufficient without decisive action.
During the vigil, Jewish representatives formally called for a federal commission of inquiry into the attack, citing years of escalating antisemitic incidents and warning that denial, delay, and political caution only embolden extremists. They emphasized that terrorism targeting Jews is not a local anomaly, but part of a global pattern.
In Israel, a parallel memorial ceremony took place at Jerusalem’s National Institutions Building, attended by President Isaac Herzog, World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel, Australian Jewish representatives, and family members of victims, including relatives of murdered Chabad emissary Rabbi Eli Schlanger.
Speaking in English, President Herzog sent condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for the wounded, warning that antisemitism is accelerating unchecked. He stressed that fighting Jew-hatred must be a shared global responsibility, requiring moral clarity, enforcement, and zero tolerance for incitement.
Yaakov Hagoel sharply criticized the Australian government for failing to confront antisemitic radicalization decisively, arguing that hesitation and political correctness create space for terror to metastasize.
From Bondi to Jerusalem, the message was unmistakable: Jewish lives are not expendable, terror must be confronted, and silence is complicity.
