Bondi Beach Massacre

Winston Churchill; "We shall fight them on the beaches ... we shall never surrender"

By Henry Levy

Gross negligence is the only way to describe how Australia let down its Jewish population.

Was the Isis inspired murder of 15 Jews and critically traumatic injury to 40 others, that took place at a Chanukah celebration on Bondi Beach, in Sydney by a radical Islamist father and son merely another hate infused killing spree against the Jewish people, an attack against Western civilization writ large, or both?

The handwriting was on the wall predicting such a heinous act, but the Australian government, and its leader, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were either too illiterate to read it, or they were too accepting of ever escalating attacks on its Jewish population, without ever exacting the necessary punishments to perpetrators, to deter future attacks.

Obvious signs that the building antisemitism in Australia could lead to violence were not dealt with in a preventable manner. Such as graffiti appearing prior to December 1st on Bondi Beach with the message "F--k Zionist Israel" and "Israel has blood on its hands", just 2 days after the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2022 about 1,000 Jew-hating Aussies held a rally outside of the Sydney Opera House supporting Hamas, urging that Israel "be overcome by greater violence" and chanting "Gas the Jews". This was before any response by Israel. Downtown Sydney has been shut down by Palestinian protests for over two years. According to Israel's international spokesman at the United Nations, Jonathan Harounoff, as reported in the New York Post, parts of mainstream media for years "have recycled inflammatory talking points, sanitized terror and relentlessly portrayed Israel - and by extension Jews - as irredeemably evil."

Australia has a Jewish population of 117,000 and as of 2023 2,550 Holocaust survivors (out of the 27,000 after World War II) and even with their leaders warning the government that calls for violence against Jews is not legitimate political action, their warnings were dismissed and one can now once again see the results.

Among the heroes of the Bondi Beach massacre areAhmed Al Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian Muslim who snuck up on the older terrorist, tackled and disarmed him before being shot twice by the younger gunman.The 44 year old father and shop owner,who has been hospitalized and is recovering saved countless lives. Ahmed has been lauded for his bravery as $1.5 million has been donated to him by the public.

Boris and Sofia Gurman, a married couple, noticed gunmen exiting their car bearing an Isis flag on the windshield and unloading weapons. Boris was seen grabbing a rifle from one of the terrorists and moments later both he and his wife were shot and murdered.

Reuben Morrison, a Chabad emissary, threw bricks at the terrorists and was subsequently shot dead.

Holocaust survivor Alex Kleyman,87, was murdered while trying to save his wife Larisa, also a Holocaust survivor While the gunman was shooting he crawled over to his wife and covered her with his body to keep her alive.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, helped organize the Hanukkah celebration. He was just one of many selfless Chabad Rabbis serving humanity around the world whose lives were snuffed out by evil doers. The rabbi headed toward the terrorists with arms raised leading with them to stop before he too was shot dead.

The younger gunman was on Australia's Security Intelligence Organization watchlist but not as a high level threat. One shocking revelation by a survivor was that there was a period of "twenty minutes with four policemen there - nobody give fire back.' Cellphone footage showed that for a period of ten minutes the gunmen went unchallenged even though policemen were reportedly nearby.

It is unfathomable, knowing that terror attacks so often take place during Jewish holidays that the Sydney Police Department was not on high alert during such a large and public celebration on Hanukkah. On Yom Kippur 2025 there was a stabbing and car-ramming attack outside a synagogue in Manchester. United Kingdom. On Passover 2025 an arson attack inside the Pennsylvania Governor's Mansion. October 7, 2023, Simchat Torah, Hamas killed 1200 and kidnapped 250 people. Yom Kippur 2019 storming of a synagogue in Halle, Germany. Passover 2019 shooting at Chabad of Poway. It goes on and on back the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Attacking Jews on their sacred holidays to turn days of joy into days of grief is the modus operandi of Jew-haters world wide. Don't kid yourselves that all of these incidents are related to political decision made by the Israeli Knesset, it is far more insidious than that.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on the Australian government to act faster to “fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society.” He added, “At these very moments, our sisters and brothers in Sydney, Australia, have been attacked by vile terrorists in a very cruel attack on Jews who went to light the first candle of Chanukah on Bondi Beach.”

Pope Leo XIV said, “Enough with these forms of anti-Semitic violence! We must eliminate hate red from our hearts.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu castigated Albanese saying four months earlier he issued a warning for inaction against targeting of Jews. He said of Albanese, “You did nothing to curb the cancer cells that were growing inside your country. You took no action. You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today.” For the sake of context, Netanyahu’s statement was made after Albanese came out in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state, however that does not lessen in any respect the validity of Netanyahu’s words.

It is indesputable that hatred, bias, racism, antisemitism and anti-Zionism left unchecked worsens over time to the point where the unthinkable consequences can become the horrific reality. One may liken this to putting a live lobster in of water and gradually turning up the heat until the poor lobster, without ever being aware of what is happening finds that it’s goose is cooked.

Most Jewish people are truly aware of what is going on.

The Jewish people must never again let any instance of Jew hatred go unchallenged.The Jewish people must never again turn the other cheek when attacked lest they be slapped, raped and trapped in a never ending beating by bullies and haters.

The Jewish people, who are defined by “Tikkun Olam” (humanity’s role in repairing the world) must first and foremost direct “Tikkun Olam” toward its own tribe. Only when we are safe and secure can we be of benefit to all mankind.

Finally there are more and more instances where through people speaking out, participating in protests, and using lawfare as a tool, justice is starting to be done.

For instance, Georgetown University severing ties with United Nation’s Special Rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, who was exposed by UN Watch for supporting terrorism and antisemitism, condemned by Italy, France and Germany, and barred entry into the United States.

Also, Pennsylvania elementary school principal, Philip Leddy, was fired for antisemitism remarks regarding “Jew money”.

Mayor-elect Mamdani’s transition team director of appointments, Catherine Almonte Da Costa resigned after her “Money hungry Jew” posts became public. The ADL reported that 20% of Mamdani’s team are linked to ”antisemitic, anti-Zionist or anti-Israel activities.”

Political commentator Ben Sharp singled out ad ”frauds and grifters” Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Steve Bannon during a Turning Point USA convention speech.

The Jewish people have resources to fight against Jew hatred and it is time they used them. They can reach out to the Lawfare Project, the Brandeis Center forHuman Rights Under Law, national and local politicians, Rabbis, Jewish activists and major Jewish organizations that must coordinate their efforts without regard to fund raising.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill:

We shall fight the Jew haters on the beaches, on the streets and on the subways.
We shall fight them in our elementary schools, in our junior high schools, in our high schools and in our universities.
We shall fight them in our workplaces.
We shall fight them at our holiday celebrations and at our places of worship.
We shall fight them until the Jew haters have no fight left in them.
We shall never surrender.