After the anti-Semitic attack on a Jewish celebration on Bondi Beach Sydney Lifeguards remembered the 15 victims. Dressed in their red and yellow uniforms, they stood in a long line by the waterfront overlooking the ocean for three minutes of silence.
Across the country, the rescue organization Surf Life Saving Australia called on its more than 200,000 volunteers to remember the attack victims. “We pay respect to those who lost their lives, to those who risked their lives, to those who worked so hard to save lives, and to all of us who will never forget this,” the organization said.
Last Sunday we had Two gunmen shot at a celebratory event for the Jewish Hanukkah festival on the world-famous Bondi Beach and at the same time at least 15 people killed and numerous others injured, some seriously. The Australian authorities classified the attack as an anti-Semitic terrorist attack. In order to prevent further acts of anti-Semitic violence, patrols and police checks have since been increased throughout the country.
Several memorial events for the victims
Shortly after the crime, the lifeguards on Bondi Beach had brought people to safety, treated the injured and pulled panicked swimmers out of the waves. Praise for her spread online Civil courage. A photo of lifeguard Jackson Doolan, for example, running barefoot from another beach to the attack site to help the injured, was shared widely.
On Friday, hundreds of people remembered the attack victims at a joint memorial event on Bondi Beach. Australia’s Jewish community gathered on the beach to pray, while hundreds of swimmers and surfers formed a giant circle in the water off the beach.
The Australian government has declared a national day of remembrance for Sunday. At 6:47 p.m. (local time, 8:47 a.m. CET), exactly one week after the attack began, the Australian population is expected to light candles in memory of the victims.
Prime Minister Albanese announces tightening of laws
Also the Australian one prime minister Anthony Albanese attended the lifeguards’ memorial service at Bondi Beach. The country’s Jewish community is “completely unbreakable,” Albanese said. An event in the Great Synagogue in Sydney, which he attended on Friday, had already shown that “the spirit of our Jewish community in Australia is completely unbreakable.”
Critics accuse his government of not doing enough to curb the rise in anti-Semitism since the beginning of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. After the attack, the Australian Prime Minister promisedto tighten laws against hate crimes.
The government of New South Wales state, which includes Sydney, has also announced a number of reforms, including tightening the Laws against hate and gun control. A bill will be introduced on Monday that would ban the display of symbols and flags of “terrorist organizations,” including Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic State.
