Sheina Gutnick on fighting antisemitism amid grief

At a recent WIZO Victoria event to thank supporters of its Sponsor a Child program, guest speaker Sheina Gutnick credited her late father Reuven Morrison z”l, with giving her the strength she needed to become an advocate against antisemitism, in the aftermath of the Bondi massacre, where he was murdered while fighting back against two ISIS inspired terrorists.

“He was intuitive, he was incredibly intelligent, and he saw things in a way that no one else did, and in doing so imbued me with the most resilience, the most pride, and the ability to ultimately see a way forward. So, everything that I’m able to do now, the fact that I’m able to stand, to talk, to advocate – I give him 100 per cent credit for it,” Gutnick said.

Gutnick shared that her father was born in the USSR in 1963 and faced antisemitism a school, knowing his mother’s family has been burnt alive.  He came to Australia at 14, dropping out of school, meeting his wife on Bondi Beach and developing successful businesses.  For 12 years they struggled to have a child, and after turning to Jewish rituals, Gutnick was born soon after.  This led Morrison to embrace observant Judaism and for 12 years he fought for the development of Chabad Bondi.

Gutnick said her life is now divided between pre and post December 14, 2025. “I’ve learned that the grief, the trauma, the anger, and the sadness are not going anywhere. I have to grow around it. I have to make room for the joy, for the happiness, for everything that life has to offer,” she said.

She said her advocacy began the day after Bondi when CBS News called and asked to bring a camera crew to her home at 1am.

“I did it. I thought I was done. The next day, I’m splashed across every Australian newspaper with a personal statement that I had put out. I just remember feeling so raw and real and angry after that interview.” Gutnick said when she wanted to return to her “bubble of grief”, someone would say they were inspired by her words to be proudly Jewish.

“It’s been so many puzzle piece moments in that sense to make me realise that in the wise words of Rachel Goldberg-Polin, I have my why, I have a reason why I am doing everything,” Gutnick said. In April, Gutnick became a public affairs advocate for the Combat Antisemitism Movement.

In conversation with this reporter, Gutnick discussed giving evidence before the Royal Commission. “It was a very empowering moment, but I think the best moment was they really wanted me to share my reflections of Jewish resilience and faith,” she said.

Gutnick said after giving evidence she received positive feedback but also antisemitic hatred: “One post managed to generate over 4500 negative antisemitic comments… that I look like Anne Frank, that I should go the way Frank did,” and another posted, “That it was a shame they didn’t get me at Bondi as well.”

Asked whether she trusts the Royal Commission process Gutnick said, “I think a lot of Jewish individuals are very hesitant to put in a submission because they don’t think that anything’s going to go anywhere, and what I keep saying is, even if we’re not going to get the right outcomes that we want, there are so many individuals and organisations listening, and the educational sectors listening, and the business sectors listening, and there are real people that can make real changes that are listening to the statistics. Ultimately, there’s going to be a lot of data available that has been compiled by the Royal Commission, and hopefully the right recommendations will be made, and I truly, truly hope they will, but I do want to encourage those that even if we’re feeling very let down by how things are, it’s not just the Royal Commission itself, it’s everyone else that’s listening in that are capable of putting changes in place.”

WIZO Victoria co-president Penny Goodman said, “Sheina continues to remind us about the importance of community, hope and standing together through difficult times.” While WIZO Victoria co-President Hani Hanam-Papalia noted the importance of WIZO’s Sponsor a Child program, “We’re 80 people here, but we have 6000 kids in Israel… Every soul is something we need to nurture, develop, because the future of Israel depends on them.”