Memorial in Melbourne
Liberal candidate for Macnamara, Benson Saulo, said Australia lost its innocence on October 9 at the Sydney Opera House.
Around 600 Melbourne Jews and their supporters gathered at Southbank on Sunday for a hostages memorial and commemoration.
Co-organiser Joel Kuper said the Jewish community has become accustomed to tolerating a certain threat level, focused on defence as opposed to calling out the violence enabling policies.
“We’ve been gaslit into being ever thankful for any ‘support’, but it has cost our community dearly. Ultimately we in the community need to stand up and be more courageous,” he said.
Kuper also had a message for the Victoria Police Commissioner, Shane Patton.
“Put on a kippah and casual clothes and walk down Swanston Street from the State Library to Flinders Street, walk a mile in our shoes, and let us know how safe he feels,” he said.
Liberal candidate for Macnamara, Benson Saulo, said Australia lost its innocence on October 9 at the Sydney Opera House.
“We saw flags burning, chants that many of us of my age have never heard before, but probably run deep in your memories and your lived memories of your families calling for the death and destruction of Jews and of Israel. We should have seen leadership, and yet we did not,” he told the crowd.
Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann told the story of a school student who was bullied after October 7 who responded by wearing a kippah and tzitzit to school. The bullying subsided.
“The Jewish way is to show everybody that you are proud of your Jewishness and you will not back down,” Rabbi Kaltmann said.
A representative of the Mel Iran Iranian group, which opposes the Islamic regime and supports the return of the Shah, Omid, said the peoples of Israel and Iran are both victims of terrorism.
“Our two nations, Iran and Israel, against our will, and contrary to our shared ancient and unbreakable roots, [have] set aside life and love and became enemies,” he said.
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