Security, community, and looking after one another

In the days following the Bondi Chanukah terror attack, I have spoken with parents unsure whether to send their children to school, older community members reconsidering routines they have kept for decades, and young people asking how to balance pride in who they are with a heightened sense of vulnerability.

These conversations have stayed with me. They speak not only to grief and shock but to a community trying to make sense of what it means to feel safe again.

Many people across Melbourne’s Jewish community are feeling shaken, fearful, unsettled, and in some cases angry. These reactions are real and deeply understandable.

Terror is designed not only to harm those directly affected, but to create fear that ripples far beyond the scene itself.

In that sense, what happened at Bondi has touched far more people, including the community here in Melbourne.

Fear does not look the same for everyone. For some, it shows up as anxiety or hypervigilance. For others, it manifests as anger, numbness, or exhaustion.

There is no single “right” way to respond to an event like this. This is especially true in the immediate aftermath.

The events at Bondi have been classified by police as a terror attack.

This designation is partly operational, enabling police to access additional investigative powers.

But it also reflects a sobering reality. Our community has been targeted in a way that challenges our sense of safety in places that should have been secure.

It is natural if this has made people feel more cautious about gathering as a community or being visibly Jewish.

Choosing caution, however, is not the same as giving in to fear. Jewish strength has always included protecting life and protecting one another.

Safeguarding life is itself an expression of responsibility and moral clarity.
There are people whose role it is to think about risk and safety on an ongoing basis so that the rest of the community can continue living Jewish life.

Much of this work happens quietly and out of sight, but it is constant, deliberate, and adaptive.

Within the Jewish community, no single organisation carries this responsibility alone.

Protecting Jewish life and community is a shared effort.

The CSG provides security coordination, threat monitoring, and liaison with police.

The Jewish Community Council of Victoria leads advocacy and coordination across organisations.

Communal services focus on wellbeing, counselling, and mental health support.

The Jewish Community Crisis Management group coordinates efforts across organisations to strengthen resilience and guide recovery.

Together, these roles ensure safety, advocacy, and care work hand in hand to support the community now and in the future.

In Victoria, the CSG works continuously with Victoria Police and national partners.

Threat assessments are made dynamically, based on multiple inputs and local conditions, and are reviewed daily. While not every operational detail can be shared publicly, nothing is being dismissed.

Information is monitored, assessed, and reassessed continuously.

This year alone, the CSG team, many of whom are volunteers, has delivered thousands of hours of protection shifts, and that work will continue through the summer period including at youth camps.

We have expanded our mobile patrol units, which now operate seven days a week.

They are staffed by trained personnel and coordinated through our Security Operations Centre.

That centre has also expanded, with an extended network of CCTV providing central visibility across key communal areas.

We work closely with Victoria Police on an operational basis and have provided cultural awareness training to more than 150 police officers this year.

But security on its own is not the whole story. The mission of the CSG is to protect Jewish life and Jewish way of life. Security enables community, it does not replace it.

All our community organisations are committed to ensuring that Jewish life in Melbourne will continue publicly and proudly.

Security will be integrated into the planning, but it should not define who we are. Connection, gathering, and communal life are at the heart of Jewish identity, and they remain essential, even in difficult times.

While security organisations provide crucial protection, the strength of our community also depends on each person doing their part.

Staying aware, reporting suspicious behaviour, and acting responsibly are not just practical measures.

They are expressions of communal resilience in the face of targeted threats.

Staying informed through trusted channels, being aware of surroundings, avoiding engagement with provocation, and refraining from sharing unverified or distressing content online all contribute meaningfully to communal safety.

Simply closing the door behind you as you enter or leave synagogue, and dispersing quickly after an event, are simple ways you can help CSG in its work.

We also ask everyone to take practical steps to help keep the community safe.

Download and use the JEAP app on your mobile phone. It is the fastest way for emergency information can be shared with the community and allows you to contact CSG and Hatzolah directly if needed.

Finally, emotional wellbeing must be recognised as part of communal safety.

If you or someone in your family is feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or unable to sleep, support is available.

Seeking help is not a sign of weakness. It is an act of responsibility to yourself and to those around you.

We move forward not because we are fearless, but because we are connected, informed, and committed to looking out for one another.