Connection between Israel and Australian Jews
Packed Toorak Shule Yom Hazikaron ceremony reflects on shared loss after Bondi attack.
Israeli ambassador to Australia Dr Hillel Newman declared there is now a “covenant of blood” between Israel and Australian Jews as a packed Toorak Shule fell silent for an emotional Yom Hazikaron ceremony on Monday night.
The evening, organised by Zionism Victoria with the support of JNF, UIA the Gandel Foundation and other groups, drew a capacity crowd to the historic synagogue for a ceremony themed “Magal Hazikaron – Cycle of Memory.”
In moving remarks, Newman linked the Bondi attack of last year directly to the Israeli national experience of loss.
“When the Bondi Beach attack occurred, I was still in Israel,” he said.
“The shock over the attack swept the entire nation of Israel as if they were Israelis killed on the streets of Tel Aviv. There is now a covenant of blood between Israel and the Jews of Australia.”
Newman, a former IDF battlefield medic who has lost friends and relatives in combat, told the audience that Israel had added 170 soldiers and 79 civilians to its national roll of the fallen over the past year.
“The sorrow and bereavement touches just about every home in Israel,” he said.
Framing the conflict in existential terms, Newman said the core issue was “a battle between civilisation and barbarism” and pledged that Israel will prevail.
“Tonight is not about watching,” said Zionism Victoria president Elyse Schachna.
“It’s about standing inside the weight of what has been lost.”
She asked the audience to refrain from applause, so that every moment remained one of reflection.
The ceremony included a dramatic siren and minute of silence replicating the practice observed across Israel on Yom Hazikaron.
An IDF veteran shared his account of losing a friend at the battle of Bint Jubeil in Lebanon, and the story of Dafna Meir, a nurse stabbed to death defending her children during a 2016 terror attack, was relayed to the gathering.
A relative of Dora Bloch, the Jewish hostage killed in Uganda following the Entebbe raid, also spoke.
Melbourne musicians Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier performed their song Book of Life, with Israeli songs A Song Without A Name by Shalom Hanoch and Halevay by Boaz Sharabi also performed.
Creative direction for the evening was provided by Ari Jacob.