{"id":197014,"date":"2025-12-21T21:02:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T21:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/197014\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T21:02:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T21:02:18","slug":"in-pictures-thousands-honour-bondi-victims-at-emotional-beachside-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/197014\/","title":{"rendered":"In pictures: Thousands honour Bondi victims at emotional beachside memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 6:47pm yesterday, exactly one week after a shooting unfolded at Sydney’s picturesque Bondi Beach, thousands of people held a minute’s silence to remember the 15 innocent lives that were taken.<\/p>\n

ABC photojournalists Che Chorley<\/a> and Jack Fisher<\/a> were at the memorial service to capture those moments.<\/p>\n

On a national day of reflection, Australians marked the moment that everything changed.<\/p>\n

Thousands of people gathered at the place where Australia’s Jewish community was viciously attacked.<\/p>\n

\"A Some estimates put the crowd at 20,000 people.(ABC News: Che Chorley)\"Crowds Australian marked the moment by coming together.(ABC News: Jack Fisher)\"Two The memorial was held on a national day of reflection marking seven days since the Bondi Beach attack.(ABC: Jack Fisher)<\/p>\n

At the Bondi service were people from all walks of life: the local Jewish community, the nation’s political leaders, and ordinary Australians wanting to show solidarity.<\/p>\n

\"Two Australia’s Jewish community is reeling from the attack.(ABC News: Che Chorley)\"Anthony The prime minister was among those who attended Sunday’s service.(ABC News: Che Chorley)\"Two Many turned out to show solidarity and support for the Jewish community.(ABC News: Che Chorley)<\/p>\n

And on display were many tributes and markers of respect for those killed and injured.<\/p>\n

\"An Floral tributes were left for those killed.(ABC News: Che Chorley)\"Sky A sky banner was flown over Bondi Beach on Sunday.(ABC News: Che Chorley)\"Two Symbols of remembrance now dot the world-famous beach.Bondi victims remembered<\/p>\n

Fifteen people were killed a week ago, among them rabbi Eli Schlanger.<\/p>\n

He had worked in Bondi’s Jewish community for 18 years.<\/p>\n

“I want to say clearly, and from the deepest place in my heart, this event is Eli’s dream come true,” rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of the global headquarters of Chabad, told the crowd yesterday.<\/p>\n

“Thousands of Jews standing together as one, thousands of non-Jews showing up standing shoulder to shoulder.<\/p>\n

\"A Last Sunday’s attack came during an event marking the first day of Hanukkah.(ABC News: Jack Fisher)\"A A menorah was lit during the memorial service.(ABC News: Che Chorley)<\/p>\n

Among the symbols to emerge from the massacre has been the bee, which represents the youngest victim of the Bondi attack: 10-year-old Matilda.<\/p>\n

A rendition of Waltzing Matilda was played in her memory.<\/p>\n

\"Young Ten-year-old Matilda is being remembered.(ABC News: Jack Fisher)\"A Matilda was named after the Australian song Waltzing Matilda.(ABC News: Jack Fisher)Loading…<\/p>\n

There was also a standing ovation for Ahmed Al Ahmed, the man who tackled one of the Bondi gunmen to the ground and wrested away his weapon.<\/p>\n

The Syrian-born tobacco vendor remains in hospital. However, he passed on a message yesterday: “Today I stand with you, my brothers and sisters. Thank you, my brothers and sisters.”<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

And as Australians grieved those lost, survivors of the massacre had messages of their own.<\/p>\n

Teenager Chaya Dadon, who was at Bondi last weekend when the shooting broke out, addressed the crowd.<\/p>\n

“Be the light \u2026 be the light in the field of darkness.”<\/p>\n

“That will make us stronger \u2026 we are mourning, but we are getting stronger as a nation. We are growing.”\"A Chaya Dadon chose to leave safety to help other children during the Bondi attack.(ABC News: Jack Fisher)\"Teary Symbols of Jewish support and resilience were everywhere.(ABC News: Che Chorley)Political leaders receive mixed response<\/p>\n

Leaders from across the political spectrum were also at the memorial to show their support for the Jewish community.<\/p>\n

NSW Premier Chris Minns and Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane both gave speeches, with the latter recounting how she arrived at Bondi “while shots were still being fired”.<\/p>\n

\"Chris Chris Minns received cheers from the crowd for his leadership in the attack’s aftermath.(ABC News: Jack Fisher)\"Kellie NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane told the crowd how she witnessed “chaos and terror” as she arrived at Bondi Beach last Sunday.(ABC News: Che Chorley)<\/p>\n

Governor-General Sam Mostyn read a letter from King Charles III, and there were audible boos as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived at the service.<\/p>\n

\"Sam The governor-general said Jewish Australians were “a vital part of Australia’s story of success and belonging”.(ABC News: Jack Fisher)<\/p>\n

Mr Albanese was joined by some of his predecessors, including John Howard and Scott Morrison.<\/p>\n

\"John Former prime ministers were among those to attend the memorial.(ABC News: Che Chorley)\"Tanya Tanya Plibersek at the Bondi Beach attack memorial.(ABC News: Che Chorley)Security tight as Bondi mourns<\/p>\n

Amid the scenes of heartbreak, there were reminders of the dangers the Jewish community faced.<\/p>\n

\"Two Concerns about safety did not deter thousands from attending.(ABC News: Che Chorley )\"Woman Members of the public have been leaving condolence messages on the foreshore of Bondi Beach.(ABC News: Che Chorley)\"Two A circle of peace was formed at Bondi.(ABC News: Billy Cooper\u00a0)<\/p>\n

As crowds gathered, police could be seen on patrol, maintaining a conspicuous presence at the scene of the attack.<\/p>\n

\"Police Police officers came armed with with long-arm firearms.(ABC News: Che Chorley)\"A Security was stepped up ahead of Sunday night’s memorial event.(ABC News: Che Chorley)<\/p>\n

It was a visible reminder that after the events of Sunday, December 14, things may never be the same again.<\/p>\n

\"A Australians are coming to terms with the worst mass shooting since Port Arthur.(ABC News: Che Chorley)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At 6:47pm yesterday, exactly one week after a shooting unfolded at Sydney’s picturesque Bondi Beach, thousands of people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[29063,114,631,268,85,46,26167,111754,24028,266,267,4032,25436],"class_list":["post-197014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-bondi","tag-business","tag-community","tag-finance","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-jewish","tag-memorial","tag-memorial-service","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-shooting","tag-sydney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}