International Jewish Communities Express Solidarity After Attack

Jewish communities worldwide expressed solidarity with Australian victims Monday after Sunday’s Bondi Beach shooting killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned as antisemitic terrorism. The prime minister laid flowers at the site as flags flew at half-mast across Australia following the nation’s deadliest shooting in decades.
Messages of support poured in from Jewish organizations, community leaders, and individuals around the globe responding to the targeted attack on approximately 1,000 people gathered for religious observance. The violence resonated particularly strongly during Hanukkah, a holiday celebrating resilience in the face of oppression. International condemnations emphasized that attacks on any Jewish community threaten Jewish people everywhere.
Father-son attackers Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, carried out the roughly ten-minute assault before security forces killed the elder and critically wounded the younger. The father’s death brought total fatalities to sixteen. The deliberate targeting of a religious celebration sparked renewed discussions about rising antisemitism globally and the need for international cooperation in combating hatred.
Forty people remained hospitalized, including two police officers whose serious injuries had stabilized. Victims aged ten to 87 represented multiple generations of Australian Jewish families. Among those recovering was 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, whose Muslim background and heroic defense of Jewish celebrants resonated as a powerful example of interfaith solidarity against hatred.
This incident marks Australia’s worst gun violence in nearly three decades and has become part of a broader conversation about protecting Jewish communities worldwide. International security experts shared best practices for protecting religious gatherings while maintaining the open character essential to worship. As Australian Jewish communities processed their trauma, the global response demonstrated that they did not stand alone in grief or in determination to continue public celebration of their faith despite fear.