Herzog and Albanese meet bereaved families at Chabad of Bondi

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Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal visited Chabad of Bondi to meet with bereaved families and join the community in mourning the loss of the 15 victims murdered in the Bondi Beach terror attack.

It was a moving occasion, with the community deep in grief and many still wounded from the December 14 attack that targeted Jewish families celebrating the first night of Chanukah.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined Herzog at the synagogue and while he didn’t speak, he did read out the names of the victims and met privately with the grieving families.

Chabad of Bondi Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, whose son-in-law Rabbi Eli Schlanger was among those killed, welcomed both leaders.

“In the aftermath, the grief was overwhelming, but so too was the outpouring of support from across Australia and the world,” Rabbi Ulman said, before thanking President Herzog for reaching out immediately after the attack.

“I will never forget the phone call I received from you so soon after the massacre. At a moment when words often fail, you reached out, not as a distant head of state, but as family,” Rabbi Ulman said.

“You have now come to Sydney. You did not send a message, you did not delegate comfort. you came yourself. You came not for ceremony, but to comfort a grieving community, to bring strength to the wounded and the suffering, but also to remind the world that terror may wound us, but it will not break us.”

Rabbi Ulman also thanked Albanese for “standing with our community”.

“Your presence here affirms that our shared values, dignity, security and respect are lived commitments,” he said.

“Tonight is not about politics. It is about people, about memory, but also that responsibility. The terrorists sought to isolate us. They failed. They sought to instil fear. They failed because tonight in this synagogue, we affirm that connection and light is stronger than hatred, and that faith is stronger than fear.”

Herzog spoke emotionally about the loss suffered by the community.

“I am moved by the warmth of this community and overcome by the sorrow over the people we lost Beautiful souls, including your own son in law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, whose seat is now empty,” Herzog said.

“Their absence has torn a gaping hole in the heart of the Jewish people. I see it in your faces, I hear it in the trembling voices. This is the home of a community in mourning.

“My wife Michal and I have come here on behalf of your sisters and brothers in Israel and across the Jewish world, to mourn with you, to weep with you, and stand with you, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart.

“We have come to join you in practicing the most fundamentally Jewish tradition: we have come to remember.”

Herzog also thanked Albanese for the reception extended to him by the Australian government.

“You are an important world leader,” he said.

“We are calling out the despicable phenomenon that has had devastating ramifications, especially on the free world.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said there was always “something special” about the Chabad of Bondi community, “marked by a deep reverence for Australian freedom and democracy, with overflowing hearts and souls matured by the bitterness of the old world”.

“Today, our sacred place is elevated to an even higher plane by the presence of His Excellency Mr Isaac Herzog and the First Lady Mrs Michal Herzog, together with the Prime Minister of our great nation,” he said.

“There are those who have questioned why our community needs the President of Israel at this time. They do not understand what it means to be Jewish. They do not grasp that Israel is an inseverable part of being Jewish.

“We need the comfort of Am Yisrael and we need the State of Israel which has always shown us how to stand our ground and to fight.

Ryvchin then addressed Albanese, saying: “You being here today, alongside the head of the Jewish State is an act of leadership and solidarity for which we are grateful. Prime Minister, we are ready and have always been ready to toil with you to create a country where Jewish Australians can work, study, and create without exclusion, without fear and without having to discard our connection to Israel as the price of entry, a price we will never pay.

“This is all we seek and it is what we deserve.”

Tuesday night’s event was organised by Benny Amzalak on behalf of Chabad of Bondi.