Australian PM Anthony Albanese booed by angry attendees

10,000-strong crowd gathers on Bondi Beach to mark week since Hanukkah terror attack

Jewish leader reads message of support from Ahmed al Ahmed, who disarmed gunman; state premier says authorities failed, Jewish community can’t fight antisemitism alone

Thousands of Australians, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, gathered at the famous Bondi Beach on Sunday to honor the victims of a terror attack a week earlier that targeted a seaside Jewish Hanukkah festival event.

The nation held a day of reflection on Sunday to honor the 15 people killed and the dozens wounded in the attack by two gunmen. With security tight and flags at half-staff on government buildings, a minute of silence was held at 6:47 p.m. (9:47 a.m. Israel time), the time the attack began.

Television and radio networks paused for a minute’s silence.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended the event, where he was booed by angry attendees. Many have accused him of failing to protect the Jewish community against antisemitic hate crimes.

Albanese, his predecessors John Howard and Scott Morrison, and Governor-General Sam Mostyn, who represents Australia’s head of state King Charles III, were among the dignitaries at the commemoration that drew more than 10,000 people.

Albanese was booed by the crowd and met with cries of “shame” on arrival and again later when the speaker mentioned his name during the memorial. He sat in the front row wearing a kippah, the traditional male Jewish head covering.

Albanese, under pressure from critics who say his center-left government has not done enough to curb a surge in antisemitism since the start of the war in Gaza, was not scheduled to speak at the event.

Opposition leader Sussan Ley, who had said that a conservative government led by her would reverse a decision made by Albanese’s center-left Labor Party government this year to recognize a Palestinian state, was cheered.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have sought to link the Bondi Beach terror attack to Albanese’s recognition of Palestinian statehood.

The Australian government has rejected the claim, and has said it has consistently denounced antisemitism over the last two years and passed legislation to criminalize hate speech. It expelled the Iranian ambassador earlier this year after accusing Tehran of directing two antisemitic arson attacks.

Hero who disarmed gunman: ‘I stand with you’

Speaking to the crowd, local Jewish leader David Ossip read a message from Ahmed al Ahmed, the bystander who rushed to disarm one of the gunmen during the massacre.

Ossip, who heads the local Jewish Board of Deputies, paid tribute to Israeli Gefen Bitton and Syrian-born Ahmed, who both ran toward the terrorist amid the shooting and, Ossip said, “whose unbelievable bravery saved so many lives last week.” Both were wounded during the confrontation.

Ossip noted to cheers that Ahmed’s father was in the crowd, and said he saw Ahmed earlier in the day.

“Ahmed has asked me to pass on the following message to us all: ‘The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. Today, I stand with you, my brothers and sisters,'” Ossip said. “Thank you, Ahmed.”

He also praised the resilience of the Jewish community.

“The answer to the current situation cannot just be more security and larger compounds,” he said.

“Up until two years ago, Australia was always the lucky country for Jews. But sadly no more. We’ve lost our innocence,” he said. “We’ve seen the strength and resilience of the Jewish community, our community, who refused to retreat or cower or become consumed by vengeance, but instead have become more determined to build back bigger and better than before, prouder of who we are and more united.”

He added, “The terrorists have picked the wrong community to mess with, because we, the Jewish community, are unbreakable. Resilience is in our veins.”

The crowd responded by singing “Am Yisrael chai,” Hebrew for “The nation of Israel lives.”

Ossip also praised local leaders for their response, moments after the huge crowd booed Albanese.

“New South Wales Premier Chris Minns,” Ossip said, “who has not missed a funeral, a synagogue service, or an opportunity to be with the Jewish community this week. Thank you, Chris, for your leadership.”

Ossip then introduced New South Wales Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane, whom he called “a hero.”

“Last week, Kellie made the choice in the midst of the attack to go down to Bondi Beach, to go to where the incident was taking place, and she provided assistance to those who were injured and gave shelter to those who needed it… That is bravery, that is courage. Thank you, Kellie.”

Ossip called for a royal commission — the equivalent of a state commission of inquiry in constitutional monarchies — in Australia to investigate the attack.

Speaking at the memorial, 14-year-old survivor Chaya Dadon said: “We are getting stronger as a nation. We are growing. Sometimes growing hurts… Life is going to move on, and why not make the best of it.”

State premier acknowledges failure of authorities

Premier Minns, who was cheered and praised at the memorial, said the terror attack was an attempt to marginalize, scatter, intimidate, and cause fear.

“You have reclaimed Bondi Beach for us,” he said. “In your defiance, in your resistance and resolve, you have returned to these sands just seven days after a shocking crime.”

“I want to say this clearly and sincerely: We are deeply sorry. With humility, I acknowledge the government and its highest duty is to protect the citizens, and we did not do that one week ago,” he stated. “That reality weighs on me heavily.”

“We must accept that responsibility and use that to do everything and anything we possibly can to stop it from happening again,” he continued, adding that Jewish people cannot carry the burden of fighting antisemitism alone.

After the national minute of silence to mark one week since the attack, the Australian national anthem, “Advance Australia Fair,” played. Following that, Jewish communal leaders recited chapters of Psalms, as well as the “El Maleh Rachamim” prayer to memorialize the dead.

Images of the victims aged 10 to 87 were also projected at the ceremony. “Waltzing Matilda” was sung in honor of the youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda, whose Ukrainian parents gave their first Australian-born daughter what they described as the most Australian name they knew.

The event concluded with a candlelighting for the festival’s eighth and final night, emceed by Jewish Australian Olympic gold medalist Jessica Fox and lifeguard Anthony “Harries” Carroll.

After the blessings, people were called up to light the menorah for the final time this holiday. Those honored included first responders, including from the Jewish emergency service Hatzolah; the police commissioner of New South Wales; children of two Chabad rabbis killed in the massacre, Eli Schlanger and Yaakov Levitan; the father of one of those wounded in the attack, Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff; the chevra kadisha, or Jewish burial society, that tended to the victims, and the father of Matilda, 10, the youngest victim of the attack.

The shamash, which lights the menorah’s candles, was lit by the father of Ahmed al Ahmed, who was wounded as he rushed onto the scene and disarmed one of the attackers.

Following the lighting, Hanukkah prayers and songs were sung, along with the song “I Am Australian.”

Across the country, countless homes lined their windowsills with candles in a nationwide gesture of “light over darkness.”

Herzog calls rise of antisemitism a ‘global emergency’

The day was also marked in Jerusalem, at a ceremony hosted by President Isaac Herzog.

“The rise of Jew-hatred across the world is a global emergency. The battle against antisemitism must be everyone’s battle against antisemitism,” he said at the President’s Residence.

“This is an urgent call to action to prevent the next catastrophe. In each nation, combating antisemitism requires very strong and tough measures and strong leadership,” he added.

“I want to say to the Jews of Australia, the people of Israel are with you,” Herzog continued, adding, “I hope to be able to visit all of you soon in Australia and bring you a message of love from Israel.”

Albanese launches review of law enforcement

Albanese announced a review of the country’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies earlier on Sunday. He said the review, to be led by a former chief of Australia’s spy agency, would probe whether federal police and intelligence agencies have the “right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe.”

The attack exposed gaps in gun-license assessments and information-sharing between agencies that policymakers have said they want to plug. Albanese has announced a nationwide gun buyback, while gun safety experts say the nation’s gun laws, among the world’s toughest, are riddled with loopholes.

Authorities are investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism targeting Jews. Patrols and policing across the country have been ramped up to prevent further antisemitic violence. Authorities believe the gunmen were inspired by the terrorist Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.

“The ISIS-inspired atrocity last Sunday reinforces the rapidly changing security environment in our nation. Our security agencies must be in the best position to respond,” Albanese said in a statement, adding that the review would conclude by the end of April.

The Bondi Beach attack was the most serious of a string of antisemitic incidents in Australia, which have included attacks on synagogues, buildings, and cars, since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

Albanese condemned anti-immigration rallies being held in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday. Only about 200 people were at the Sydney rally.

Alleged gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene. His 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, who was also shot by police and emerged from a coma on Tuesday. He has been charged with 59 offenses, including murder and terrorism, according to police. He remains in custody in the hospital.

Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.