There has been an outpouring of solidarity and condemnation by community organisations and political parties about the killing of 15 people in Bondi at a Chanukah by the Sea event on December 14.
Some, such as Amnesty International, are warning against governments exploiting the tragedy to enact new anti-protest, anti-freedom-of-expression laws.
The Jewish Council of Australia said: “We are horrified and shaken in the wake of the mass shooting at a Chanukah event in Bondi this evening … To be confronted with this horrific act of antisemitic violence during the Jewish festival of light and hope is shattering. In moments like this, we hold each other close.
“We should all be able to gather with our communities, practice our culture, and worship in safety.”
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), the peak body representing imams and the Muslim community in Australia, said while “this attack has targeted the Jewish community, it is in reality an attack on all of us, including the Muslim community … Violence and terrorism have no place in our society, and targeting innocent people undermines the safety, dignity, and cohesion of our nation.
“ANIC and the Muslim community unequivocally condemn all attacks on civilians. Antisemitism, expressed through hate, harassment, and violence directed at the Jewish community, has no place in our society.”
It urged the community to “reach out to their Jewish neighbours, friends, and colleagues to offer support and comfort during this difficult time … We will defy the division sought by those who seek to divide us.”
Palestine Action Group Sydney (PAG) said no one “should have to live in fear of terrorism or racist hate”, adding that it condemned antisemitism and all other forms of racism.
“For years, we have stood and marched in our hundreds of thousands, side by side with members of the Jewish community, to fight for a world free of racist violence and oppression, from Sydney to Gaza.
“Antisemitism has never had any place in our movement, nor in the world we want to live in.”
It criticised the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal for seeking to “exploit this tragedy”.
Segal told ABC Radio National on December 15 that “terrorist flags” were evident at the 300,000-strong March for Humanity over the Harbour Bridge in August, which included thousands of Jewish people.
“We must not let Israeli politicians, Segal, or the far right, turn this tragedy into further racist hate,” PAG said.
Further, it saluted “the heroic actions” of Ahmed al Ahmed, a fruit shop owner, who risked his life to disarm one of the two gunmen and saved countless lives.
Greens leader Larissa Waters said the “brutal gun violence” that targeted the Jewish community — families gathering to celebrate the 1st night of Hanukkah — is “reprehensible and intolerable”.
“Jewish people have a right to safety. Antisemitism has no place in our community and this abhorrent attack is an attack on all of us. Gun violence is not who we are. Antisemitism is not who we are. Demonising migrants is not who we are.”
Amnesty International said it stands in solidarity with the Jewish community and condemns antisemitism and all forms of racist hatred. “Acts of terrorism, racism and violence are an affront to our shared humanity.”
It urged “politicians, the public and community leaders to reject attempts to place blame on entire communities or to use this tragedy to fuel further racism or division.
“We caution against knee-jerk responses that scapegoat communities, undermine the right to protest, or seek to justify discriminatory measures such as calls to restrict or target immigration on the basis of religion, race or nationality.”
Socialist Alliance (SA) expressed its solidarity with the victims and survivors, and warned that “the forces of hate will opportunistically seek to demonise and scapegoat as a result”.
It called for “unity not hate”, saying the racist right is already talking about “these people” and the supposed paradigm of “their gunmen”. As the same people are also praising one man, SA said it is important to “amplify who that hero is — someone the very same law-and-order, xenophobic hate-peddlers would normally denounce as an intruder, a threat”.
SA condemned far-right racist figures, such as Pauline Hanson and Bob Katter, who or “have tried to exploit this tragedy to whip demonise and scapegoat other people in our community”. It said Jillian Segal's comments alleging that the peaceful Palestine protests contributed to the tragedy “is a vile slur and confirmation that Anthony Albanese should remove Segal from her position immediately”.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) said the attack is the “cause of deep pain for us all”.
It said “we are living in profoundly violent times”, which means communities need to come together. “In moments like this, it is critical that communities are supported with care, compassion, and access to the resources they need to recover and heal. And society at large must not respond with speculation, vilification, blame and hate.
“APAN extends its solidarity to all those impacted. We send love to the Jewish community. And we call for a collective commitment to rejecting violence and fostering a society and a world grounded in dignity, safety, and care for one another.”
Jews Against the Occupation '48 said it was extremely concerned that the horrific event may be used for dangerous political agendas. “We live in a time bearing witness to global manmade tragedy: genocide, massacres, famines and utter devastation committed against innocent peoples and nations. In this moment the communities of the world must stand together against the powers and systems that promote and execute such terror.”
The Maritime Union of Australia said it “condemns antisemitism, bigotry and all acts of violence and hatred that claim lives or harm others as fundamental criminal and human rights abuses.
“Violence like this is abhorrent to our Union's and members' long commitment to universal values of peace, tolerance and a unity and solidarity that comes from diversity and harmony in multiculturalism and internationalism. Bigotry and hate do not, and should not, have any place in Australian society nor in any community anywhere in the world.”
Sydney Anti-AUKUS Coalition said anti-war and anti-racist voices “face huge challenges” and this mass shooting “has made it much harder” because racists and authoritarians “are weaponising this tragedy to suit their own racist agendas”.
“Dangerously, Hanson and Segal argue that the anti-genocide movement, comprising people of all ethnicities and religious backgrounds, is 'anti-Semitic' and therefore the cause of the December 14 tragedy.
SAAC said this is absurd especially as it comes from people who have “cheered on Israel’s genocide and forcible starvation of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Gaza for more than two years.”
It said antisemitism, like Islamophobia, anti-Asian and anti-First Nations racism, must be eradicated and that “part of reaching that goal has to involve ending the genocide in Gaza and stopping the drive to war within our region. AUKUS sets Australia on a new path to war — this time a US-led war with China — and it is already provoking anti-Chinese racism.”
[Blak Caucus is holding a healing ceremony at 5.30pm, December 15, at Hyde Park. This article was updated on December 17.]