Sydney, Dec 15, (dpa/GNA) – Horrific scenes unfolded on Sunday at the world-famous Bondi Beach in Australia’s bustling metropolis of Sydney.
It was supposed to be the first day of the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, a day of reflection and religious observance, instead people ran in panic across the beach, screaming in fear.
Videos on social media showed two armed men running across a car park, shooting indiscriminately. A passer-by became the hero of the hour after footage showed him, temporarily overpowering one of the attackers and taking his rifle.
The authorities ultimately described the attack as a terrorist act directed against the Jewish community.
At 6:47 pm (0747 GMT), the attackers began shooting at families, according to the police. Twelve people died, and 29 were taken to hospital.
One of the suspected attackers was killed, according to the police, while the other was taken into custody.
By late evening, the beach promenade was deserted, fluttering police tape flickering in the blue light of patrol cars, as the world-famous Bondi Beach was transformed from a dream destination into a nightmare crime scene.
Flip-flops left behind in haste lay next to overturned bicycles, a shoe was stuck in the sand, its owner presumably ran for their life.
On the tables of the beachside restaurants, there were full beer bottles and half-eaten pizzas. A trampled smartphone lay at the edge of the pavement.
Wrapped in warming blankets, a young surfer sought comfort in the arms of his friend. The swim shorts were long dry, the cheeks were not.
Neither wanted to talk about what happened here a few hours ago. Where exactly was the crime scene? “Fuck, mate, everywhere! They were shooting everywhere!”
Most Jews in Sydney – and elsewhere in Australia – are descendants of Holocaust survivors, although some did come before World War II broke out because Australian opened its doors to a limited number of German and Austrian Jews.
“When I think of how we lived, a charmed childhood open about our Judaism, so free and part of Australia, ” said Annette Rosen, a 73-year-old Sydney resident whose parents were lucky enough to get an Australian visa in the lottery system that was set up in 1937.
They arrived in Australia in 1938 when her brother was just 3 months old. She was born there. Her family’s roots can be traced back centuries to what is now Wroclaw in Poland.
“My parents were so grateful they were able to leave Germany on time in 1938,” she said.
“My father always used to say: ‘You’ll never find another country as good as Australia.'”
But he also warned that anti-Semitism would eventually rear its ugly head.
“It always does,” she said. “We just didn’t think it would be so soon.”
Rosen said the father of one of her daughter’s friends was killed in the shooting.
“He brought his family to Australia in the 1980s to escape anti-Semitism in Ukraine,” she said. “Oh the irony.”
Jewish association: “We warned so many times that this was coming?”
The shock over the crime is immense. Leaders worldwide expressed their solidarity with the victims and their families.
“It’s the responsibility of all Australians to wrap their arms around Australia’s Jewish community, to help them get through this period,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
However, the mourning is mixed with serious accusations.
The Australian Jewish Association posted on X: “We warned so many times that this was coming. We never once felt the Government took the warnings seriously.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on Australia to provide more protection for the Jewish community.
Questions from journalists about whether his country is doing enough to tackle growing anti-Semitism were dismissed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
He said his country takes the issue seriously. Shortly after the attack, he spoke of shocking and distressing scenes in a post on X.
The debate about anti-Semitism had already reignited in October – following a severe attack on Jews in the northern English city of Manchester.
Since the start of the Gaza War in October 2023, a worldwide wave of anti-Semitism has been observed, including attacks on Jews and synagogues, where criticism of Israel sometimes turns into hatred directed against Jews.
GNA