Australian Jewish women unite in grief and defiance after terror attack
Looking at the sea of women in white around her, Ginette Searle said she was still in deep mourning after Jews were targeted and murdered in the Bondi terrorist attack: “We all feel as if it happened to us.
“But this community is strong,” the former CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia said. “We will support each other and we know the wider community will support us too, which gives us some comfort.”
At the meeting in Melbourne on Sunday morning, seven days after the horrific incident that claimed the lives of 15 people, conversations turned again and again to the Jewish tradition of shiva; This was a week-long period of intense mourning commemorating the dead, beginning immediately after funerals.
The common expression is “sitting shiva” – perching on a small stool for seven days and seven nights, being out of sorts and silently reminiscing about loved ones.
On Sunday morning, 100 women dressed in white were sitting there. Silence. Reflective. They were united in pain and fierce determination to ensure that an attack like the Bondi attack never happens again.
The group had gathered in North Caulfield to watch a live broadcast of a vigil organized by the National Council of Australian Jewish Women at Sydney’s Bondi Pavilion on Sunday morning.
Outside the pavilion, a procession of mourners carefully placed single-stemmed flowers one by one before retreating into the arms of their family and friends nearby.
The Sydney women’s vigil included participants from across the political spectrum; these included senior Labor MPs Tanya Plibersek and Michelle Rowland, Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh, independent MPs Monique Ryan and Zali Steggall and Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
The images from Sydney opened a window of connection and shared pain with the women silently listening from Melbourne.
Strangers and loved ones alike embraced with tears in their eyes as those gathered were encouraged to share the peace gesture with the person next to them. Hands stretched across aisles and over seat backs as people hoped to find the warmth and solidarity of another person bearing the same terrible pain.
Liora Miller, vice president of the women’s council, said of the Melbourne event: “I have a mix of emotions inside me. A combination of anger, grief, despair and defiance.”
“I kind of stopped myself from thinking too much about what happened because I would just want to curl up in a ball; it’s so scary.
“So we’ve spent this week doing what we can as an organization to support our community and speak to wider Australia, and we say enough is enough – you can’t continue to allow this to happen on your watch.”
The Sunday morning vigil by nearly 100 Melbourne women of Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds is part of a national day of reflection for the victims of the Bondi terror attack.
Australians have been encouraged to light candles at 6.47pm, exactly a week after gunshots were heard on Bondi Beach.
On Sunday, young people representing the last night of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah will gather in Federation Square at the Pillars of Light event starting at 17.00, share donuts, spin four-sided tops known as dreidels and light menorah candles.
A concert to “dispel the darkness” and unite in song will take place at Glen Eira Town Hall on Sunday night.
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson attended the Caulfield North meeting and said the grief of Australia’s Jewish community a week after the Bondi attack was immense but the “sense of community” was overwhelming. [and] “togetherness” was stronger than ever.
Miller said it was long past time for Prime Minister Jacinta Allan to take action and take seriously credible warnings of rising antisemitism.
“When hatred is allowed to fester, when intimidation goes unchecked, when clear lines are not drawn, tragedy becomes not a possibility, but just a matter of time,” he said.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a review of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to examine their performance in preparing for the attack.
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