Melbourne mourns six dead hostages
Six speakers lit candles and paid tribute to the six murdered hostages, relating anecdotes and describing their personalities.
Chanting “bring them home alive” and holding up placards with the faces of hostages, some titled “Murdered”, hundreds packed into Caulfield Shule on Monday night to mourn the brutal deaths of six hostages held by Hamas since October 7.
Kaddish was recited for Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Carmel Gat, 40, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Alexander Lobanov, 33, Almog Sarusi, 27, and Ori Danino, 25, after their bodies were recovered by the IDF from a tunnel beneath Rafah in Gaza on Saturday.
Six speakers lit candles and paid tribute to the six murdered hostages, relating anecdotes and describing their personalities.
At the Zionism Victoria (ZV) memorial event, president Yossi Goldfarb emphasised that bringing the hostages home must be the Israeli government’s “chief priority” – believed to be the first time an Australian Jewish community leader has been that specific.
“Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh – all of Israel is responsible for one another. We too here in Melbourne are responsible for the hostages,” said Goldfarb.
“We too are responsible for making our voices heard. We’ve also suffered 331 sleepless nights and anxious days, as we stay glued to our devices, following the latest news, communicating with friends and family here in Israel and elsewhere. We also hope that tonight is the last night we experience this nightmare.”
comments