Australia’s Parliament Holds Moment of Silence for Bondi Terror Victims

Australia’s parliament returned early on Monday to hold a minute of silence for the 15 people murdered in an antisemitic terror attack that targeted a Chanukah event at Bondi Beach last month, as victims’ families watched from the public gallery.

Lawmakers had been due to resume sittings next month after the Southern Hemisphere summer break, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recalled parliament two weeks early following the December 14 attack, the deadliest antisemitic terror incident in Australia in decades.

Albanese moved a condolence motion in the House of Representatives formally recognizing the attack as an act of terrorism deliberately targeting Australia’s Jewish community. The motion condemned antisemitism, honored first responders and civilian heroes, acknowledged the physical and psychological trauma of survivors and witnesses, and affirmed the right of Jewish Australians to live, worship and gather openly and safely.

After the minute of silence, the prime minister read the names of the 15 victims aloud. In his opening remarks, Albanese said the silence “echoes with those 15 names, 15 innocent people for whom today should be just another Monday morning, another day in this beautiful country they loved, in the embrace of the family and friends they adored.”

“Another day in busy lives, rich in passion and purpose, defined by hard work and by humor,” he said. “Another day devoted to others, serving their community, nourishing their faith, another day of school holidays.”

“Instead, our parliament comes together in sorrow to offer our nation’s condolences to the people who knew and loved them best,” Albanese said, welcoming family members, friends and spiritual leaders to the chamber. “From the depths of grief, you have summoned remarkable strength.”

Addressing the Jewish community directly, the prime minister pledged, “As prime minister, I give you this solemn promise on behalf of every Australian, we will not meet your suffering with silence.” “We will continue to do everything required to ensure your security, uphold your safety, and protect and honour your place here with us as Australians,” he added.

Albanese said many Australians had told one another in the aftermath that such violence “doesn’t happen here, not in Australia.” He added, “Bondi Beach changed that forever. We must face that unforgiving truth, and we must learn from it.”

In a rare and symbolic moment, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus wore a kippah and recited the Mourner’s Kaddish in the House of Representatives. Speaking afterward, Dreyfus described the attack as a rupture in the nation’s sense of safety.

“There are moments in our nation’s history that confront us with unimaginable horror and grief, that leave us searching for words, that leave us struggling to comprehend the scale of what has been lost,” he said.

“For every person murdered, there are families and friends left behind, a home left quieter, clothes still hanging in wardrobes, photos on walls that will never be updated,” Dreyfus said, describing a grief that he said would not pass quickly. “You don’t have to be Jewish to feel this in your chest, an attack like this hurts all of us.”

The opposition echoed the condemnation. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said Jewish Australians no longer feel safe and warned that the consequences extend far beyond the Jewish community. “Jewish Australians do not feel safe, and if Jewish Australians do not feel safe, then no Australian feels safe,” Ley said.

Beyond commemoration, the early recall of parliament also marked the start of legislative debate prompted by the Bondi attack. Albanese said proposed gun control reforms would be introduced separately from hate-crime legislation after opposition parties signaled they would not support a combined bill.