Police in Melbourne boost security as Hanukkah events cut short after Bondi shooting

“What we need to do as community leadership is to ensure that our children can continue to go to school, with the support of our law enforcement and government.

“While all Australian children were able to go to school safely this morning without a second thought, I find it really difficult to even consider removing Jewish children from school.”

Flags at Bialik College in Melbourne’s east were flown at half-mast on Monday.

Principal Jeremy Stowe-Lindner reassured parents that the school has “best in class” security arrangements, including armed guards and a range of covert security measures.

He recommended parents calmly reassure their children that their schools are safe and reiterate that Jewish identity is a sign of “strength, not fragility.”

“We must create safety without creating paralysis,” Stowe-Lindner said in a community message.

“Trauma research is clear: Children need to see adults manage fear, not be consumed by it.”

Reyzl Zylberman, principal of Sholem Aleichem College, said Sunday’s senseless act of violence shook his community. He said the university believes in the proud expression of Jews in the face of hatred and anti-Semitism.

“We will continue to inspire our students with our traditions and stories of the strength and resilience of our people, especially as this season coincides with our Hanukkah festival,” Zylberman said.

On Sunday night, the first night of Hanukkah celebrations, organizers abruptly ended events at Melbourne’s Caulfield Racecourse and Federation Square.

Victoria Police stressed there was “no known threat locally”. However, he stated that he understood the fear and anxiety that the Jewish people would feel.

Levin said it was the community’s “deepest wish” that other major festivals planned for this week go ahead.

‘I feel physically sick just thinking about hearing who it is, because it will no doubt be my friends, colleagues, family members or people I know.’

Naomi Levin, executive director of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria

Speaking outside the St Kilda Hebrew Congregation on Monday morning, Premier Jacinta Allan assured the community they would do so under the close supervision of Victoria Police. “There are Hanukkah events going on all week long,” Allan said.

“This is the perfect opportunity to show love and support for the Jewish faith and the Jewish community by attending a Hanukkah event or perhaps lighting your own candle at home.”

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Just a year ago, Levin stood outside the firebombed Adass Israel synagogue in the suburb of Ripponlea and thought: “It can’t get any worse than this.”

He said he was afraid to hear the names of those killed in the Bondi attack on Sunday night.

“It physically bothers me to hear who it is, because it will no doubt be my friends, my co-workers, my family members, or people I know. So we’re waiting with complete dread,” Levin said.

“We just want to live in peace as a Jewish people.”

Former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg issued a damning statement in response to Sunday’s attack, calling it a “tragedy of unimaginable proportions” and saying Australia will never be the same.

“The carnage we saw at one of our nation’s most iconic landmarks is the culmination of the leadership’s unprecedented failure to heed the warning signs that were so clear to every eye-opening Australian,” Frydenberg said in a statement.

Victoria Police’s statement on Sunday spoke of the “shock and distress” the police force experienced at the events in Bondi and stated that the police stood by the Jewish community.

It was increasing the resources allocated to the Operations Park, which was established in October 2023 to monitor and coordinate the investigation of crimes related to the Middle East conflict, predominantly targeting Jewish people.

Victoria Police said the statewide operation would include increased police presence around places of worship and locations important to the Jewish community, including schools, synagogues and community halls.

Allan met with representatives of Melbourne’s Jewish community on Monday morning and condemned Sunday’s massacre as a demonic act of terrorism driven by antisemitism.

Asked about the pro-Palestinian rally planned for this weekend, the prime minister said: “This is absolutely not the time to use moments and opportunities to fuel division in our society.”

Caulfield member state lower house MP David Southwick said Bondi was attacking Jews in Australia.

“This attack was an attack on the Jewish presence in Australia. Many people in the Victorian Jewish community know someone affected by the attack,” Southwick wrote on social media.

“This violence has been on the rise for the past two years, and this tragedy represents a devastating climax.”

Macnamara Labor Party member Josh Burns said in a statement that Hanukkah was a festival of “hope, resilience and tradition”.

“But now it has become unimaginable pain and our hearts are broken,” Burns said.

“Over the next few days we will all be working together to support each other.”

Victorian opposition leader Jess Wilson says she stands with Australia’s Jewish community.

“This heinous act of targeted violence will cause great distress to Australia’s Jewish communities and more broadly at an already vulnerable time,” Wilson said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Victorians joined the rest of the country in responding to a call for blood donations to support those injured in the Bondi attacks after the Red Cross issued an urgent appeal for donations, particularly for O-negative type blood.

“Today we’re seeing the best of humanity on display in our donation centers,” Jemma Falkenmire, LifeBlood’s national spokesperson, told 3AW Melbourne radio.

“We’ve seen nearly 20,000 people contact us to make an appointment to donate. We haven’t seen this type of response since the Black Saturday bushfires.”

Falkenmire said some blood was sent interstate to Sydney earlier today and LifeBlood hoped the rate of people donating would continue as Bondi patients continued to need blood for weeks.

With Roy Ward and Alexander Darling

Bondi terror attack given more coverage

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