Sydney terror attack leaves Australian Jews feeling abandoned

Shock and grief gripped Australia’s Jewish community on Sunday after at least 10 people were murdered by terrorists at a Chabad Chanukah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

“The community here is in complete shock. This is not something we thought could happen,” Danny Lam, president of the Mizrachi movement in Australia, told Israel Hayom. “Things like this have never happened in Australia. My children were at the event and left half an hour before the shooting started. People here are in terrible fear. They’re hiding in their homes because no one knows if there are more accomplices to the terrorists,” he said.

Lam laid the blame on Australian authorities, but expressed the hope that things would now change.

“[Australian] Prime Minister [Anthony] Albanese did nothing to prevent such an event,” said Lam. “We saw the incidents surrounding the synagogue arson, but they learned nothing from it,” he continued, referring to the setting on fire of a Melbourne synagogue during Shabbat services in June.

“The courts are not using existing law to prevent cases of antisemitism and terror, and the police are not taking the threat seriously enough. Right now, there’s no understanding of the severity of the event, but I’m sure now something will change, hopefully sufficiently,” said Lam.

Chaim Levy, a Sydney resident, survived the Bondi Beach massacre. “We were there in complete shock,” he told Israel Hayom. I was with my wife and two children, and we fled for our lives. I saw the bullets flying in every direction. I sat behind a car for 20 minutes with my child, waiting for the shooting to stop. It was non-stop shooting, and many casualties. According to testimonies, there were only about four police officers there,” he said.

Levy knew the murdered Chabad emissary, Rabbi Eli Shlanger, who he said was “a brilliant and amazing young man, all light and giving. I saw him 30 seconds before the incident. He was the driving force behind the Chabad house, ran the events, and brought tremendous energy with him. Just a year or two ago, they opened a new Chabad house, and he was an integral part of the Sydney community. We are stunned and broken; he has a baby only three weeks old.”

Levy blamed the Australian government for the massacre. “It’s hard to believe we’re in this situation, and why did it happen? We’re pointing an accusing finger at the Australian government, at the prime minister and the foreign minister,” he said. “They’re inflaming the rhetoric and the mood on the street. We’ve never seen things like this here—antisemitic demonstrations and abandoning Jews. The situation has set us back years,” he added.

“The prime minister doesn’t address Jews and doesn’t take responsibility. This is an event whose writing was on the wall. We spoke to everyone, but for two years now, no one cares. This event could have been prevented if the government had intervened. We demand to live in security, and someone will have to be held accountable and do soul-searching,” said Levy.

“Our blood has been declared fair game”

M., a Jewish resident of Sydney, told Israel Hayom: “This is an area where all the wealthy Jews in the city live. I myself planned to go with a friend to the party, but in the end we gave up.”

According to M., the attack, while horrible, was not surprising.

“Since Anthony Albanese came to power, there has been a dramatic change not only in the attitude toward Israel but also in the attitude toward Jews here,” she said. “Today, there is an atmosphere of antisemitism at a level I don’t remember. The feeling is that our blood has been declared fair game. I feel very bad here, and that there is no future for the Jewish community here. The prime minister simply promotes such anti-Israel and anti-Jewish policy that antisemitism is rampant here and Islamic terror forces feel it’s easy to murder Jews here,” she added.

Chaya Shir, who lives in Australia, told Israel’s Army Radio she lives “five minutes” from the beach. “Right now, no one is going out. Lockdown in the restaurant and entertainment area. I’m glued to the television,” she said. “I considered going to the event, and I’m happy I’m not there. Sorry for all the young families, children who experienced trauma. The whole community is very shaken. My heart is with all the families,” she added.

When asked if there’s antisemitism in Australia, she usually tells people it’s “less terrible than Europe,” she said. “But the escalation is very high. Waiting for the authorities’ responses, every such event is a stain on the leadership,” she continued.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) issued a statement linking the attack to unchecked incitement.

“Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall. Over the last few years, Australia has turned from a paradise to a nightmare for parts of the Jewish community,” said CAM CEO Roytman Dratwa. “Synagogues were burned, Jews were attacked and harassed on the streets, and now they have been targeted for murder at a public religious event,” he continued.

“The Australian government has allowed far too much antisemitism to pass in the public sphere, including incendiary expressions of anti-Israel rhetoric, and this has made the situation extremely volatile. Some might have read this as permission to hunt Jews openly in broad daylight, as we see today,” he said.

The organization’s press release called on Australian authorities “to not just hunt down all those involved but take a far stronger stance against incitement against Jews in all of its forms, from the far-Left, the far-Right and Islamist preachers. The moment for action has long passed.”

CAM also requested that global figures not misinterpret the implications of the tragedy.

“We also know that there will be a reflex to cancel Chanukah lighting events around the world. This is wrong and sends a message to the Jewish community that you can not be protected and must hide,” said Dratwa. “We call on leaders around the world, along with law enforcement agencies, to ensure that the annual celebratory Chanukah lighting events continue with adequate protection and the support and attendance for all, Jews and non-Jews alike.”

Yaakov Hershkovitz contributed to this report.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.

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