Nation to pause to honour Bondi victims

Australians will observe a National Day of Mourning today (Thursday) to honour the 15 people killed in the antisemitic Bondi Beach terrorist attack on December 14 last year.

Flags will fly at half-mast across the country while 15 buildings will be illuminated in white light as symbols of remembrance, including the Sydney Opera House, Bondi Pavilion, Sydney Tower and the Maritime Museum.

At 7.01pm, Australians will be invited to observe a minute of silence wherever they are, with many expected to mark the day by lighting candles, checking in on neighbours or sharing meals.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the day is an opportunity to come together in support of 15 devastated families and thousands more dealing with physical and mental trauma.

“Those taken from us were patriotic Australians, proud Jews and devoted members of our families and our community. They were kind and decent people. We should each seek to live in their image, contributing more, giving more and loving more,” he said.

“It is also incumbent on us to contemplate how we got here. How we as a nation allowed a poison to flourish in our beautiful country. How hateful mobs and sinister clerics used our landmarks and our streets to summon others to do violence. How our institutions became inhospitable to Jewish Australians. How synagogues and businesses burned. And how 15 of our fellow Australians died for the crime of being Jewish.”

Ryvchin said the overwhelming majority of Australians are good, kind, fair-minded and loving people, with many thousands having conveyed their sorrow and solidarity.

“Now let this be the day we turn our pain and grief into a revolution of goodness, of mitzvot (good deeds big and small) that unites our country and drives out the evil. They want it darker but we’ll bring the light,” he said.

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies will facilitate the distribution of candles at Bondi Beach, Bondi Junction and Martin Place from midday, with volunteers distributing free candles as symbols of solidarity and remembrance.

In a statement, the JBD said the day provides an opportunity for communities across the nation to come together, pause and reflect.

“Today we remember the 15 lives lost. The parents, children, and grandparents, whose absence is felt every day,” the statement said.

“Their memory must compel all of us to ensure that Jewish Australians can live openly, safely, and without fear.”

An evening event at the Sydney Opera House will be attended by many of the victims’ families, as well as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Premier Chris Minns and both federal and NSW opposition leaders Sussan Ley and Kellie Sloane.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Minns said the theme chosen by the Chabad community in Bondi, “Light will win – a gathering of unity and remembrance”, captures something deeply Australian.

“When tragedy strikes, our instinct is not to retreat into ourselves, but to show up for one another,” he wrote.

Minns said marking the moment at the Sydney Opera House is fitting and marks a turning point to restore the spirit of unity that the building should always represent.

“And to the Jewish community, I want to say, thank you. You could have shattered into a million pieces, instead your strength has helped unite the nation,” he wrote.

“My hope is that tonight sends a very clear message to you. That you are not alone as you mourn. And I hope you have seen that, in the actions of Australians.”