Jewish leaders condemn Sydney terror murder
JEWISH communalleaders have expressed their shock and outrage at the terrorist murder of a Sydney police employee by teenager Farhad Jabar on Friday.
JEWISH communal leaders have expressed their shock and outrage at the terrorist murder of a Sydney police employee by teenager Farhad Jabar on Friday.
The 15-year-old visited a Parramatta mosque, then went directly to the Parramatta police complex, where he fatally shot 58-year-old Curtis Cheng, a husband and father of two, who worked at police headquarters as an accountant. Jabar was shot dead by police as they tried to subdue him after his attack.
It has been reported that prior to the attack Jabar attended a lecture given at the mosque by Hizb ut-Tahrir; however, the group has denied he was affiliated with them and denounced the shooting. The president of the mosque has also insisted that Jabar was not known at the venue, adding that if it was suspected the mosque was being used as a venue to radicalise attendees, the police would be contacted immediately.
Police on Wednesday arrested five men in raids around Sydney’s west after last Friday’s attack. A day earlier, a student who attended the same school as Jabar was arrested and charged after allegedly posting threats to police on Facebook, and had allegedly “threatened and intimidated police” when they spoke with him.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Robert Goot and executive director Peter Wertheim issued a statement saying the Jewish roof body is “shocked and appalled” at the murder of Cheng. “We agree entirely with the observation of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that the killing was an act of terrorism and cold-blooded murder.
“We pray for Mr Cheng’s soul and share in the sorrow, grief and revulsion caused by the heinous crime which claimed his life. May his family be granted strength and comfort at this time of great pain.
“We pay tribute to the NSW police officers at the station who appear to have had no choice but to kill Jabar in order to prevent him from shooting other innocent people.
“A crime of this nature inevitably raises questions about how anybody living in freedom and relative comfort in Australia could descend into such base behaviour,” the statement said.
But the ECAJ cautioned that the murder should not draw recriminations. “On the contrary, it should serve to unite Australians to affirm all the more strongly the values that our society has always held dear, and to do so in our politics, our educational institutions, our media and every facet of our public life.”
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff said: “Our hearts go out to the family of the victim of this appalling act of terror. We cannot put our heads in the sand and ignore the potential for radicalisation of minors and others, and the government must continue to work to prevent radicalisation.”
B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich described Friday as “a day of mourning for our country”, adding that the crime “will shock the conscience of all Australians everywhere”.
“This is a time for all Australians, regardless of their religious affiliation, to stand together not only to condemn this atrocity but to provide collective comfort and solace by reaffirming our faith in our nation’s fundamental democratic values of mutual respect, civility, inclusiveness and multiculturalism,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deakin University’s Burwood campus in Melbourne hosted a conference organised by hardline Islamic group, the Islamic Research and Educational Academy last weekend, only hours after Friday’s terrorist attack in Sydney, with media barred from the event.
The conference promoted the teachings of Zakir Naik, who has been banned from countries including Britain and Canada for his public support of Osama Bin Laden. Deakin Burwood’s media office could not be reached before deadline.
PETER KOHN
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