Liverpool arrests by NSW Police made; Islamic State lauds terrorist attack; Tony Burke speaks on Australia hate speech laws, gun reform proposals
Back to Bondi, where Jews from across the community returned to the beach to pray.
Rabbi Yosef Eichenblatt was at Hanukkah by the Sea when the gunman began shooting into the crowd, and he said prayer was a step toward healing.
Hundreds of people form a circle and splash the water while paddling.Credit: Kate Geraghty
“We pray three times a day, and today we were just praying and trying to cheer up the spirits and people and pray to bring healing to this area that is contaminated with evil and hatred,” he said.
Also, just before rowing, Psalm 23 was read.
Rowing view as viewed from the drone.Credit: Janie Barrett
As people on the beach stood and listened, a man said into the microphone, “Even when I walk through the dark valley, I will fear no evil.” “Because you are with me,” he said, pausing to catch his breath and gather the support of his fellow mourners. “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Further back on the beach, a table filled with jam donuts and water bottles, donated by the Bagel Company, awaits hungry swimmers and surfers.
Mandy Glick, a member of the Jewish community who helped organize the rowing ceremony, said a rabbi posted on a Jewish WhatsApp group that a rowing should be made on Friday.
He said that all donations and aid come from the “Jewish vine” and that donuts, the symbolic food of Hanukkah, represent light.
