The 15 victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack are being remembered across the nation with a day of mourning.Led by the Bondi Chabad, the theme for the sombre day is Light Will Win: A Gathering of Unity and Remembrance.It is the first time Australia has observed a national day of mourning since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.The Jewish community has requested that Australians come together through a mitzvah — an act of kindness or compassion.Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said Australians should seek to live in the image of those who lost their lives by “contributing more, giving more and loving more”.
“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 in a statement.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin has called Australians to “turn our pain and grief into a revolution of goodness” on a national day of mourning one month on from the Bondi Beach tragedy. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett
Speaking in Canberra on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today was about remembering the victims. “It’s an opportunity for us as a nation to wrap our arms around the Jewish community because people were targeted because they were Jewish-Australians. Every Jewish-Australian felt that very deeply that evening, and ever since as well. Today, we share their grief. A grief with no ending, only a beginning.”Sidestepping the crisis unfolding in the Coalition on Thursday, Opposition leader Sussan Ley said: “Today the focus must be on Jewish Australians, indeed all Australians, as we mourn the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack.”Flags will be flown at half-mast on Thursday and national institutions in Canberra and Sydney will be illuminated.
A national memorial service at the Sydney Opera House will take place from 7pm and will be streamed online.
A candle for each victim
Fifteen candles, one for each victim of the antisemitic terror attack, will be lit by the families of those slain.
Dignitaries slated to attend alongside Albanese include Governor-General Sam Mostyn, Ley and NSW Premier Chris Minns.
Albanese encouraged all Australians to participate in their own way by leaving a candle on their window ledge or doorstep, with a minute’s silence scheduled for 7.01pm.
“This will be a very important day of mourning. It will be an opportunity for us to pay respects as a nation to those people who lost their lives,” he said.
Commemorations held across the country
In Victoria, a multi-faith vigil will be held on Thursday at St Paul’s Cathedral, which will be open to the public and streamed online.Institutions nationwide will be illuminated as a symbol of light on Thursday, including national buildings in Canberra and government buildings in NSW and Victoria.
A commemorative installation, 15 Pillars of Light, will also be erected throughout Australian cities.
Coming together through kindness or compassion
The Jewish community said acts of kindness or compassion can include giving to others, helping the sick, offering hospitality, providing kindness to animals, or greeting people with warmth and positivity.
It comes a month after a vigil at Bondi Beach attended by thousands of people in a cathartic show of defiance and sadness, as survivors recounted harrowing tales of bullets flying past them.
Rabbi Mendel Kastel, whose brother-in-law Rabbi Eli Schlanger was killed, arrived at the scene of the terrorist attack soon after.He has been heartened by people coming together to support a Jewish community so viciously targeted.”The one thing that’s common is a sense of community and support, looking after each other and trying to provide as much comfort as possible,” he told the Australian Associated Press.
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