Australia Observes National Day of Mourning for Bondi Attack Victims

Australia marked a national day of mourning on Thursday to remember the 15 victims of the antisemitic terror attack in Bondi on December 14, with a nationwide minute of silence, community remembrance, and a national memorial in Sydney.

The day was shaped as both a moment of reflection and a call to action, centered on remembrance, unity, and acts of kindness. Australians were asked to pause at 7:01 pm for a minute of silence, light candles in their windows, and perform a mitzvah (good deed) in memory of those killed.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the day was an opportunity for the nation to stop and reflect. “It was a tragic attack not just on Jewish Australians, but on the Australian way of life,” he said earlier in the day, noting the symbolism of the violence taking place on the first night of Chanukah, “a celebration of the victory of light over darkness.”

Albanese said Jewish Australians were targeted because they were Jewish and that the country was sharing in their grief. “Every Jewish-Australian felt that very deeply that evening, and ever since as well,” he said. “Today, we share their grief. A grief with no ending, only a beginning.”

Jewish leaders said the national day of mourning was also a moment of reckoning. Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the country should reflect on how antisemitism was allowed to take root. “It is also incumbent on us to contemplate how we got here,” he said, urging Australians to turn grief into “a revolution of goodness, of mitzvot … that unites our country and drives out the evil.”

As evening came, families of the victims, survivors, first responders, faith leaders, and political figures gathered at the Sydney Opera House for the national memorial service organized by Chabad of Bondi. Security around the site was tight, and police lined the forecourt as guests arrived.

Inside, the service focused on remembrance and symbolism. Fifteen candles were lit on stage, one for each of the victims, by their families. Sons of several victims stood together to recite prayers in Hebrew, while videos paid tribute to those who were killed. Leibel Lazaroff, a 20-year-old American rabbi who was shot in the attack, appeared on stage to sing just hours after being discharged from hospital. Remembrance videos of all of the victims were shown on screen.

Senior Rabbi Yehoram Ulman framed the day as a national call to action. “We don’t fight darkness by shouting. We fight darkness by turning on the lights,” he said. “We’re asking every Australian to take one tangible deed of goodness and make it a regular part of your day.”

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the timing of the memorial marked the one-month point after burial, a moment traditionally associated with searching for meaning. He said the country must confront antisemitism wherever it appears, calling it “corrosive to our community.”

Towards the end of the service, Albanese apologized directly to the families. “I am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect your loved ones from this evil,” he said, adding that Australians were committed to driving antisemitism from the country. “You have taught a grieving nation that the only way to defeat darkness is to add the light.”