Murdered hostages remembered in Australia
Hundreds of members of the Jewish community came together to remember the Bibas family, wearing orange to honour Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.
The return of the bodies of the murdered Bibas family and peace activist Oded Lifshitz was marked in Melbourne on Sunday morning.
More than 400 members of the Jewish community gathered at Beth Weizmann, the Jewish Community Centre in Caulfield.
People were encouraged to wear orange, and there were orange balloons and stickers available.
The atmosphere was subdued.
After prayers for the IDF, Zionism Victoria President Elyse Schachna gave a short, emotional speech to the solemn crowd.
“This week terrorists tried to blow up buses in Israel because they didn’t want to world to talk about our babies. But today is a testament that they did not succeed. They never will,” she said.
Schachna said we value life and our enemies do not.
“Today the lion strength of Kfir and Ariel, the song of Shiri and Oded’s hope bring us and bind us together. May their memories be a blessing, may their memories be a revolution,” she said.
Hatikvah was sung, and those present were encouraged to put their orange stickers on a memorial board with photos of the murdered Israelis.
Another rally was held on Victoria’s Parliament’s steps in the afternoon where over 200 people gathered, standing in the rain holding orange balloons, to express their grief and outrage at the murder of Shiri Bibas and her children Ariel and Kfir, and to call for the release of the hostages.
Natalie Gutman spoke before the crowd, “How do we digest the waves of grief as we all saw the tiny coffins of our beautiful red headed babies? We have gathered week after week pleading with the world to help us get our loved ones home.”
“Forensic analysis of the bodies has confirmed that the children were strangled before their bodies were mutilated. Yarden Bibas and the Bibas family who lost three generations cannot even begin to try to recover and to heal until all the hostages are home,” she said.
The rally in the city was organised by United with Israel, JUnited and Lions of Zion.
In Sydney’s Double Bay just prior to Shabbat on Friday, hundreds braved the rain to honour the Bibas family.
“Hundreds turned up wearing orange as we cried together, sang together and uplifted each other during these difficult and heartbreaking times,” said organiser Rabbi Yossi Friedman.
“We may be going through dark times but we have never seen such strength and unity that is our community and our people.”
In a heartwarming gesture, the non-Jewish owner of a local balloon shop donated orange balloons for the gathering.
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