Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too begin by speaking the names of the 15 people who were murdered at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025: Rabbi Eli Schlanger; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan; Alex Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor; Peter Meagher; Boris and Sofia Gurman; Edith Brutman; Dan Elkayam; Reuven Morrison; Marika Pogany; Adam Smyth; Boris Tetleroyd; Tania Tretiak; Tibor Weitzen; and Matilda, aged 10.

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; that compel us to reflect, to remember and to act; and that test not only our laws and our institutions but also the quite assumptions of safety, decency and mutual care that distinguish Australia's values. The attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025 was such a moment. It occurred during a Hanukkah celebration attended by families, children and elders. It was a gathering that symbolised joy, tradition and community. It was shattered by hate. Fifteen people were murdered. Many more were wounded and traumatised, and lives were forever changed.

Amid the horror, acts of extraordinary courage also emerged: bystanders shielding others from harm; emergency workers and police officers running towards danger, strangers helping strangers; and Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian Australian father of two, who disarmed one of the attackers, preventing further loss of life. In minutes, a targeted atrocity against Jewish Australians turned a celebration of light into a moment of darkness. Yet, even then, humanity's most selfless instincts of mutual care emerged, instincts that hold communities together in their most distressing moments.

It was also an attack on the kind of country we strive to be: one that is fair, safe and inclusive. We must not, and we will not, allow those values to be diminished. Every Australian, regardless of their faith or background, deserves to live in safety, dignity and peace. I've spoken with members of my own community who were, like me, deeply shaken by this attack—parents unsure how to explain such violence to their children, people of all backgrounds struggling to make sense of such hate and to find the words to speak about it.

Our response cannot be confined to grief. It must extend to what we choose to defend and how we defend it. That means upholding our laws against hate. It means ensuring that our public spaces remain open, inclusive and safe for all communities. I'm seeing Australians come together not only in grief but in determination—determination to reject hate and to act with unity and care, the values that unite us as a nation.

I've spoken the names of those who were murdered. Each one was a life full of meaning—people who were loved, who contributed to their communities, who shaped the lives of those around them in quiet, lasting and meaningful ways. 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, children asking when someone is coming home, a seat left empty at the dinner table, a laugh no longer heard, the longing for one more word—one moment, one more chance to say what was left unsaid. The pain of that absence does not pass quickly. They were parents, children, neighbours and friends. Their loss is not only an overwhelming private sorrow for families and loved ones but a wound felt across the nation. It's a reminder of how fragile our shared sense of peace and safety can be and how vital it is that we protect it together. There are some that seek to take that from us; we must not let them.

You don't have to be Jewish to feel this in your chest. An attack like this hurts all of us. In Jewish tradition there's a prayer said by mourners. It's a prayer about life, dignity and the hope for peace at times of profound loss. I will close with the Mourners' Kaddish, in memory of those we've lost, and I invite all present to rise:

Yitgadal veyitkadash shemeh raba, be-alma divera chiruteh veyamlich malchuteh bechayechon uveyomechon uvechayey dechol beit Yisrael, ba-agala uvizman kariv, ve-imru: Amen.

Yehe shemeh raba mevarach , le- alam ule -alme almaya .

Yitbarach, veyishtabach, veyitpa-ar, veyitromam, veyitnase, veyit-hadar veyitaleh veyit-halal shemeh dekudesha, berich hu, le-ela min kol birchata veshirata, tushbechata veneche-mata, da-amiran be-alma, ve-imru: Amen.

Yehe shelama raba min shemaya vechayim aleinu ve-al kol Yisra-el, ve-imru: Amen.

Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya-aseh shalom, aleinu ve-al kol Yisra-el, ve-imru: Amen.

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