NSW Police arrest two men, multiple casualties reported
Alex Ryvchin, co-chairman of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, told Sky News the annual Hanukkah event was packed with families.
If this was a targeted attack on the Jewish community in Australia, then “our worst fears have come true,” Ryvchin said.
He said he was supposed to speak at events in Bondi Beach and Dover Heights, and that he had done this in previous years, but organized a family event.
“This is the jewel in the crown of the social calendar,” Ryvchin told Sky News.
“It’s the end of the year. It’s the first night of Hanukkah. Hundreds of people, families, gather at Bondi Beach to light Hanukkah and bring in the holidays.
“There are petting zoos, face painting and food stalls. It’s a family event. It’s a nice event every year and, by some stroke of luck, I wasn’t there this year because I was having a bar mitzvah with my family.”
“My media consultant was there and he called me at the bar mitzvah and showed me the scars—he was scarred.
“I got in the car and came here to be with the community. I bypassed some blockades to get to the beach.
“I’ve spoken to the police commissioner to get more information and they’re still trying to determine what happened. I’ve heard some horrific accounts, but I don’t want to give credence to what could be speculation or hearsay at this point.”
“If this is what we think, then this is our greatest fear that we have realized.
“This is the best of the Jewish community coming together to celebrate a happy occasion. If we were deliberately targeted in this way, then this is something on a scale that none of us can understand. It is a terrible thing.”
