Emotional pleas at Waverley Council meeting as councillors debate future of footbridge used during Bondi terror attack
A public forum at an extraordinary meeting of Waverley Council produced emotional delights as councilors discussed the future of the footbridge where the Bondi terror attack took place, amid plans for how the council will commemorate the loss of 15 innocent people.
A large list of speakers, from local residents to Jewish community members and leaders, described the impact of the Bondi attack to Waverley councilors and their mayor, Will Nemesh.
Thursday’s meeting was the council’s first meeting since the terrorist attack.
A survivor and a spokesperson for the Australian Israeli Council for Jewish Affairs opened the meeting with a powerful anecdote about his experience of the horrific terror attack on Bondi Beach.
“Doctors said it was a miracle in every respect that I survived when a bullet grazed my head on the beach where I grew up and there were millimeters between life and death,” he said.
He says the terrorist attack will be a day “etched” in the collective’s memory.
Suggestions on how to commemorate the tragic event range from creating a mural for the youngest victim, Matilda, and a bee to planting a memorial garden for quiet reflection.
Others suggested that the controversial bridge not be demolished but preserved and covered with colorful mosaics with contributions from local people.
A speaker at the forum said: “What happened in Bondi on 14 December resulted in unimaginable loss for so many in our community. But do we now have to lose more of Bondi’s legacy?” he said.
A Bondi local is also demanding that the bridge not be taken away.
“These bridges are part of our heritage. They are our touchstones, they are part of our community and that’s what makes Bondi familiar to us,” he said.
“Please don’t punish us for what other people did. It wasn’t the bridges’ fault,” he added.
A Rabbi from the Rabbinical Council said the monument “should” be a public display of Jewish pride and light.
“We couldn’t think of a more fitting and appropriate symbol than the menorah in the park,” he said.
“If it’s not a menorah, it’s another very public Jewish symbol representing people who lost their lives.”
Sandy Hollis, of the Jewish Museum of Sydney, said the museum’s stance on whether the footbridge should remain in its current form was “not as important as how the victims of the terror attack are commemorated and how the space is used to educate against hatred and discrimination”.
The footbridge at Bondi Beach was used by two gunmen, Naveed and Sajid Akram, during the anti-Semitic terrorist attack on December 14 that killed 15 innocent people.
An engineering report is understood to have said the bridge would need to be replaced “within a few years”.
However, the bridge over the parkland is heritage-listed as it reflects an integral part of the redevelopment plan in the 1920s.
NSW Premier Chris Minns declared he would “hate” the footbridge being a “horrible reminder” or worse, “abused by people who will condemn it in the future” at the iconic Bondi Beach spot.
“We cannot allow one of the most beautiful places in the world to forever be remembered only as a place of horrific terrorism, because it is so much more than that,” Minns said. he said.
“Australians have managed to reclaim Bondi Beach as a place of hope and light against an absolutely horrific crime, and they have managed to do so in a short period of time,” he said.
A temporary Chanukah was placed near the site of the attack, providing the community with a temporary space to mourn, reflect and pray.
The piece was designed by artist Joel Adler, and its candles are lit by solar energy at dusk each day.
