Alison Penfold (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Matilda Britvan, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Edith Brutman, Boris Tetleroyd, Boris and Sofia Gurman, Reuven Morrison, Marika Pogany, Tibor Weitzen, Alexander Kleytman, Adam Smyth, Peter Meagher, Dan Elkayam and Tania Tretiak—taken by terror, but you will forever light our nation's path forward to fight evil. To the family and friends of the victims, to the injured and to the Australian Jewish community, I extend on behalf of myself and the people of the Lyne electorate our heartfelt and deepest condolences. Few of us will forget that Sunday. The tragedy stung and hung in the air. It still does. But few of us are living with the day-to-day grief, the unimaginable loss.

'How could this event be, an act of cold-blooded, hate-filled evil and terror?' people are asking. Surely not in Australia. Surely not in Sydney. Surely not at our iconic Bondi. But as we watched the news unfold that evening, it was clear that terrorism had struck at home. The years of rising antisemitism and the radicalisation of weak minds by fundamentalist Islamic hate preachers operating on our own soil had reached a momentary crescendo, and 15 beautiful, innocent lives had been taken—intentionally, callously, mockingly. That Sunday in Bondi was a day of extremes. We saw complete and utter evil, but, at the same time, we saw the best of humanity and its most noble traits. We saw unflinching bravery and self-sacrificing compassion. To the police, first responders, surf lifesavers, medical practitioners and ordinary Australians that, in the face of darkness and terror, shone courage and grace: I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are the shining reminders of what Australia should be.

Most of the victims were at Bondi to celebrate Hanukkah, an important celebration on the Jewish calendar and the festival of lights. Others were merely out enjoying an Aussie summer day with family, living their life as the gunmen planned to snatch it away from them. And for what? The 'what' and the 'why'—we must deliberate on these two words without equivocation or political motivation. As legislators, we have a duty to ensure that the mechanisms that put the Bondi massacre in motion can never happen again. As Australians, we must look ourselves squarely in the eye and question the cultural changes and norms that allowed this to occur. Families of the victims and Jewish Australians living in fear do not just want to hear our sympathies and our hollow words.

For many Australians, Australia is no longer a country they recognise. For many Australians its face changed long ago, but this attack brought home the stark reality that our nation's spirit and founding values of tolerance, liberty and justice are disintegrating in front of our very eyes. I have seen in my own electorate a burgeoning antisemitism, not among people that you would consider Islamic extremists nor amongst people you would consider neo-Nazis, but rather amongst everyday citizenry. What, in the past, has been disagreement with the Israeli government has now become something far more insidious, something sickening and something that has led to incredibly vile messages—hate towards me for my position on Israel and hate towards Jewish Australians because of the actions of the Israeli government.

I have been shocked and saddened by this conflation of faith and politics. How did this become so normalised? These people have written to me pleading that I oppose the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism's recommendations, uncontroversial recommendations designed to protect Jewish Australians. They don't want them. I've had people writing to me unbelievably attempting to rationalise the slaughter of innocents at Bondi as a consequence of Israel's purported genocide in Gaza. Let me be clear to anyone who has written to me with this line of reasoning: you can find no refuge in me. This subtle but sure strain of antisemitism cannot be tolerated, along with the more overt displays of antisemitism.

This parliament needs to realise that the words and deeds of those who govern have consequences beyond those of everyday Australians. The curtailing to Hamas propaganda, which saw the government grant its wish of the recognition of a Palestinian state, has consequences in fermenting antisemitism. This parliament cannot just spend two days dealing with this. The passage of legislation is not enough. We must come together to formulate an informed and collaborative approach that will see hatred of Jewish Australians and hatred of all that our nation stands for stamped out forever. We must find a pathway back to a familiar Australia where all are safe. To the victims: may you rest in peace.

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