Thousands stand up against anti-Israel Bondi rally
"When they try to dim our lives, we need to shine brighter," Rabbi Yosef Eichenblatt said at Bondi Beach.
In a heartwarming, unified and predominantly peaceful response to a pre-planned, divisive anti-Israel rally held by a few hundred people on the sand of Bondi Beach on a sunny Father’s Day morning, members of the Jewish community – in their thousands – gathered nearby in an answer of unity, Zionism and pride.
In response to chants of “From the River to the Sea”, they raised Australian and Israeli flags, and sang songs including Oseh Shalom, both nations’ anthems, and prayers together – at one point, even a shofar was blown, adding to the uplifting spirit.
The huge turnout – in which the anti-Israel protesters were outnumbered by about five-to-one – had humble beginnings.
A handful of local Jewish residents had set up a WhatsApp group to brainstorm an appropriate response to the planned “Solidarity with the Sumud Flotilla” rally – whose choice of location was described as “a deliberate provocation” by both Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh and NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip.
Nemesh also said after a man with a Palestinian flag rode a horse on Bondi Beach late on Monday afternoon, “Council is investigating possible breaches of legislation and will take action accordingly.”
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