Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been meet with boos at the Bondi Beach vigil on a special night where thousands have gathered to pay respect to the innocent lives lost a week on from one of Australia’s deadliest terror attacks.
A minute of silence has been held at Bondi Beach at a vigil honouring the survivors and 15 lives lost.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns addressed the crowd just before 8pm.
“Friends, Bondi is beautiful tonight, and not because of its beaches,” he said.
“It is beautiful because you and your thousands, in your defiance, with your resistance and resolve, you have returned to the sand just seven days after a shocking crime and have said to the terrorists, we are going nowhere.
“This crime was an attempt to marginalise and scatter, to intimidate and cause fear, but you have stood up to this intimidation for thousands of years.
“Tonight thanks to the Jewish community of Australia on this last night of Hanukkah, you have reclaimed Bondi Beach for us!”
A number of people in the crowd booed as Mr Albanese arrived, while NSW Premier Chris Minns was given a standing ovation.
The boos continued after the president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, David Ossip welcomed many political leaders at the vigil.
“The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese… (boos ring out) excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me,” he said.
Mr Albanese was joined by his wife Jodie Haydon, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
The Prime Minister was also greeted by boos as he made his exit once the memorial came to a close.
Mr Ossip’s welcome to Mr Minns provided a stark contrast, with the Premier given loud applause.
“Who has not missed a funeral, a synagogue service or an opportunity to be with the Jewish community this week,” he said, referring to Mr Minns.
He then welcomed the NSW leader of the opposition, Kellie Sloane, calling her “a hero”.
“Kellie will tell her story a bit later, but I want everyone to know that 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,” Mr Ossip said.
“I am a personal witness to the choice she made. That is bravery! That is courage! Thank you, Kellie!”
‘Darkness does not get the final word,’ Jewish leader declares
Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, the father-in-law to Rabbi Eli Schlanger, has offered a message of hope and defiance to those attending the memorial service.
Having led Bondi’s Jewish community for close to 40 years, he described the immense pain last Sunday’s attack had inflicted during what was meant to be a time of celebration.
“Last week was meant to be a festival for Joy. A celebration of family unity, hope,” he said.
Despite this, Rabbi Ulman insisted his community would not be cowed.
“The darkest form of evil violated the sacred space, but we are back,” he said.
“I stand here tonight, to say loud and clear that darkness does not get the final word.
“Light will win.”
Calls for royal commission
Mr Ossip called for a federal royal commission into last Sunday’s terror attack while endorsing the NSW government’s calls for one.
“Whilst we are all in shock, and deeply sad, we are not surprised,” Ossip told the large crowd.
“We feared and suspected that this moment was coming.
“Whilst a catastrophe such as that which we experienced last week would be a tragedy if it was unexpected, how much more tragic is it that the loss of life occurred despite all the warning signs being there?
“On that note, it cannot be disputed that we need a royal commission which goes beyond New South Wales to get to the bottom of how this catastrophe took place. And that must include the Commonwealth.”
Mr Ossip also thanked Ahmed Al-Ahmed for the bravery he showed after disarming one of the alleged gunmen during Sunday’s massacre.
“(Ahmed’s) unbelievable bravery saved so many lives last week. Friends, I spent time with Ahmed this morning, and his father is here with us tonight. And, friends, Ahmed has asked me to pass on the following message to us all,” he said.
“The Lord is close to the broken-hearted. Today I stand with you, my brothers and sisters. Thank you, my brothers and sisters.
“Thank you, Ahmed!”
Sloane will haunted ‘forever’ by aftermath of Bondi attack
NSW opposition leader Kellie Sloane told the crowd she would be haunted “forever” by what she witnessed following the Bondi terror attack.
“I’m someone who witnessed the absolute devastation firsthand last Sunday. I stand before you as someone who saw the devastation, who arrived here last week while the shots were still being fired, who witnessed the chaos and the distress, and who saw the injured, and who held the hands of those who needed their hands held,” she said.
“Who saw the chaos and the terror but also saw the kindness and so many acts of bravery.”
Ms Sloane said she had been celebrating Hanukkah in Dover heights last Sunday, but the “joyous occasion” was interrupted by news of the attack.
The NSW opposition leader explained she had then jumped into an ambulance alongside a Jewish medic and rushed to the scene.
“What I saw will haunt me forever, but I saw police running into this scene fast and unhesitating, with guns drawn, headed into danger – thank you to our police – and the final pop, pop, pop of gunfire,” she said.
Ms Sloane said she “tried my best to help” as many as she could, including by ushering a man and his 10-year-old into an ambulance as the final shots rang out.
‘I will not hide who I am’, Jewish leader declares
Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin told the crowd he will not hide who he is, a proud Australian and Jew.
“Every year, for the past ten years, Rabbi Eli Schlanger chose me to address the community on the first night of Channukah here at Bondi Beach,” he said.
“Every year I chose to stand there with him and with my daughters, first one, then two and eventually all three, with Rabbi Eli alongside me as I spoke.
“I didn’t know I was putting us all in harm’s way. I didn’t know that among us there is evil in its most pure and destructive form.
“I will not hide who I am, an Australian and a Jew, for that would be a price too great.
“So I have chosen to return to stand again on that now-sacred ground, on the first night of Channukah next year, together with my three daughters, and kindle the light, and praise the Almighty, proudly as an Australian and a Jew, because I know that’s exactly what my friend Eli would have wanted.”
More to come.