I never thought that I would write or comment about hatred in Australia for the second time in about as many months.
Back in August I wrote about the march of hate on Sydney’s Harbor Bridge that occurred while I was back home visiting. A mere few miles from my parent’s home. Sydney’s winter’s cold and rain did not deter the 100,000 plus participants from attending and rallying against Israel, and Jews. I wrote about feeling unsettled, and my momentary thought about potentially changing my very Jewish name on the Uber app, as the climate there had seemed to shift and I was hesitant, as a noticeable Jew, to ride alone. I left feeling sad and unsure as to the future and safety of Australian Jewry.
I returned there just a month ago and blessedly had a positive experience. I truly wanted to believe that the hate expressed back in August was an aberration and that the Sydney I had grown up with and loved was still OK and safe for Jews.
Then the massacre on Bondi Beach occurred. Hate and violence had struck again.
This hit incredibly close to home as my childhood house was right off Bondi Rd - literally 5 min from that site. The iconic Bondi Beach and surrounding walking paths was our stomping ground. So many of the injured, murdered and witnesses were relatives and friends of people my siblings and I had grown up with. My nephew was there - hugging and protecting his 3 year old daughter as bullets whizzed right by him, terrified that he would be the next victim. A niece left literally 30 seconds before the first bullets were fired; her friend who she had been standing and laughing with only a few moments before, was shot in the leg. Prior to that shot, and regardless of her own terror, that friend managed to say a final shema with a woman who tragically did not make it.
Despite there being a police station directly off the beach, and a number of officers on site at the event, it took at least 10 minutes, 10 minutes! before they fired back. A failure of epic proportions. Perhaps they froze in fear. I would hate to think that the inaction was due to indifference. I would prefer to assume it was a result of extreme incompetence. One of the participants, an Israeli from the community, who was near an officer during the rampage, yelled at him repeatedly to shoot at the terrorists, but the officer refused. He then begged him to give him his gun so that HE could shoot, but again that request was denied.
There is obviously immense anger on how this all unfolded. I will suspend further judgement on NSW emergency response until we hear the results of the official investigation and wait to comment further on that piece, but suffice it to say, it certainly was not their finest moment. Far from it. That, together with bodies remaining on the beach for hours following the attack. Many questions that deserve real answers.
Everyone is asking the same questions - every interviewer, every reporter. They ask how do we feel, what went through our minds, what’s the solution to the hate, what can we do to show support? I’d like to focus on something that I haven’t been asked about, nor much attention been given to.
The first is that there is a deep lesson in the fact that the one who brought down the terrorist was Ahmed - a Muslim man. He risked his life to defend a Jewish group. No one pushed him to it; in fact everyone would have completely understood had he, like so many, stayed away. Thankfully however, upon hearing the shots, he rushed from the lunch he was enjoying with his brother, and ran into the line of fire to save others.
I believe that we have created a world of ‘Us” and “Them”, Even more so since Oct 7. But the world is not black and white and not every “Them” is out to get every one of “Us”. Many unfortunately may be, but it’s not all. And so, when someone steps on to this side of justice and risks their life to help and support us, it needs to be globally acknowledged and recognized. Doing so hopefully encourages others to follow suit and act against violence and hatred.
The second message is one from the Torah. The most frequent expression in our most sacred book is not “Love Gd”, “keep Shabbat”, or even “Honor your Parents”, It’s actually a variation of the words “Al Tirah - Do not be afraid”. More than anything else that Gd has said since the dawn of time, it’s Do Not Fear.
That message is just as relevant and powerful today as it was then.
The world has tried repeatedly to bring us down, to wipe us out and eradicate our contributions and memory. Yet, every single time we dust ourselves off and rise from the ashes, rebuild with vigor, and ultimately thrive.
We will continue to live by those words, we will not live with fear. We will not be afraid to keep identifying as a Jew, we will not be afraid to practice as a Jew, we will not be afraid to keep engaging with the world and living as an “Ohr Lagoyim - a Light Unto The Nations” where we will continue to shine the light of goodness, kindness, values and morals.
We will not be afraid if they try to take us down, even on the glorious beaches of Sydney Australia - and will rebound stronger and with more Jewish pride and identity than ever before.
Am Yisrael Chai