Dear community,
Jewish communities across Australia are devastated following
the Chanukah attack in Bondi.
For many in Victoria, this is not distant news. Most
community members have family and friends in Sydney, and are carrying the pain,
fear and uncertainty alongside them.
This was a targeted act of terror against our Jewish
community. It has shaken our sense of safety and struck at the heart of our
right to live openly, proudly and publicly as Jews in Australia.
Jewish families are now questioning whether it is safe to
attend Chanukah celebrations this week. That reality alone speaks to the
severity of this moment.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) is working
closely with law enforcement and community security partners to support safety
across the community.
This attack represents one of the most serious acts of mass
violence Australia has experienced since Port Arthur. Scenes from Bondi of
Jewish and non-Jewish children, women and men fleeing in fear have been widely
likened to the Nova music festival attack of 7 October 2023. This is the tragic
manifestation of a climate in which calls to “globalise the intifada” and
similar rhetoric have been tolerated, normalised and left insufficiently
challenged.
The failure to confront this rhetoric, to enforce the law
consistently, to invest meaningfully in social cohesion, and to act on the
findings and recommendations of the report by Jillian Segal AO, Australia’s
Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, has failed the Jewish community.
There is a clear lack of moral leadership. While this attack
is deeply shocking, it did not occur in a vacuum. Antisemitism has escalated in
Australia over a sustained period, with repeated warnings from the Jewish
community too often met with statements rather than effective action.
We expect more from political leadership to create the
conditions for safety. This cannot be limited to additional security funding
alone. It requires decisive action to address the drivers of antisemitism,
including consistent enforcement of existing laws, clear condemnation of
incitement, and disruption of those who promote or enable hatred.
This moment demands more than sympathy. It requires
immediate, visible action from government to protect Jewish Australians, hold
perpetrators and enablers to account, and ensure that no community is left to
live in fear.
Sincerely,
