MPs return to Canberra ahead of National Day of Mourning after Bondi terrorist attack
Independent MP Allegra Harcayici, whose electorate includes Bondi Beach and is home to the largest Jewish community in Australia, stood to respond to the government’s motion of condolence.
Bondi Beach was perfect that Sunday; warm, clear skies, cool waves, people were excited for the upcoming holiday. Across the country, and particularly in Wentworth, Australian Jews were gathering together at the start of Hanukkah.
For years, Chabad Bondi has celebrated Hanukkah as a joyful, open celebration of music, face painting, donuts, games and lights on Bondi Beach. I left Bondi Beach with my family just an hour before the horror started.
Sunday 14 December is one of the darkest days in modern Australia. A segment of our community – Australian Jews – has been criminally targeted.
This was an attack on them and our Australian values. Our country will never be the same, it should not be. The question is, who have we become now?
How do we honor the memories of the 15 beautiful people we lost, how do we honor and care for the dozens who were physically injured, the countless people who will never forget the trauma and bloodshed of the day, and the families who will live with their scars forever; Every person we lost that day was a precious gift to their families and communities.
Simple words are inadequate to describe their light, but saying the names of those we have lost has a special place in Jewish culture. If we continue to say and remember their names, people will not die.
Spending went on to read the names of the victims and said the country had failed them and the broader Jewish community.
