Minute's silence held to remember Bondi Beach attack victims

On Sunday, mourners in Australia went silent in honor of the victims of the Bondi Beach attack. The memorial was part of a national day of reflection, marking a week since two gunmen opened fire on an event in Hannukah commemorating the Jewish festival of Hanukay. The attack killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, a British-born rabbi, and a Holocaust survivor. After a surge of antisemitic attacks in the last few months, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed at his memorial service, an expression of indignation by Australia's Jewish community against his government.

A minute's silence was observed at 18:47 (07:47 GMT) as the sun rose over Sydney on Sunday evening, just one week after the first reports of gunfire at the iconic beach. The memorial service was attended by a lot of security. Armed riot squad officers were deployed in cordoned-off areas, while a police patrol boat was visible off the coast of Bondi Beach, while police patrol boats were visible. This degree of protection is a new sight for many Australians. Following the silence, a large audience, many wearing kippas, the Jewish skullcap, or draped in Australian flags, gathered to listen to addresses. In honor of Matilda Bee, the youngest survivor of the attack, who was named Matildo Bee, bee balloons floated in the wind. The audience sang Waltzing Matilda, the song that the 10-year-old was named after. The audience erupted soon after as Chaya, a 14-year-old girl who put herself in the firing line to shield a stranger's children, chanted the name of another child. She took to the stage after shooting in the leg.

If you guys get inspired by one thing, one thing on all this,

be the light in the field of shadow. The event came to an end with the lighting of the menorah, something the crowds gathered for Hannukah last week couldn't do. However, the memorial on Sunday was not limited to Bondi Beach or the state of New South Wales. The windowsills of countless homes around Australia were lined with candles in a nation-wide gesture of

One person in the crowd yelled, Blood on your hands.The prime minister seemed startled at the hostility, and his wife Jodie Haydon grasped his arm in support. After heading toward the prime minister, at least one person of the crowd was assaulted by police. After an increase in antisemitic attacks in Australia since the 7th October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent military retaliation war in Gaza, the Jewish community in Australia has consistently said that this attack was a surprise but not a shock. More could and should have been done to prevent the Sydney attack from happening, according to the overwhelming majority. Albanese has reacted angrily to the criticism, saying,

I accept my responsibility for the part as Australia's prime minister. Albanese has been accused by some of supporting the Palestinians rather than supporting Israel. As he began to recognize Palestine earlier this year, the friendship got worse. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused him, as well as other leaders of other nations that have recognized a Palestinian state, of rewarding Hamas. After the Bondi Beach attack last Sunday, Netanyahu said Albanese's government

At the Sydney memorial service, an outstanding leader was lauded partly for the speed with which he admitted government failures in the run-up to the assault, in comparison to the Australian prime minister's, Chris Minns, the Premier of New South Wales, was praised for his speed. This week, he attended the funerals of several victims. Albanese was not invited to some. Minns said at the function, We are deeply sorry.We mourn with you,

says the government, and with humility, I acknowledge that the government's highest responsibility is to safeguard its citizens. And we didn't do that one week ago.

inflamed a deep vein of antisemitic violence in our neighborhood,

Naveed Akram, a 24 year-old suspect, has been charged with 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder and one of unlawful conduct. During the attack, his father, Sajid, was killed. Albanese revealed a slew of steps to cracking down on hate speech and incitement to violence just days after the attack. He revealed a study into the police and national intelligence agencies just before the ceremony on Sunday.

The ISIS-inspired atrocity last Sunday strengthened the rapidly changing security environment in our region,