Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

It is with deep sadness that I rise to speak on this condolence motion. The Bondi Beach shooting on the first day of Hanukkah was the worst attack on Jewish people in Australian history, the deadliest terrorist attack in Australian history and the second deadliest mass shooting in Australian history. The 15 victims ranged in age from 10-year-old Matilda, daughter of Ukrainian migrants, to 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. I also acknowledge the other victims by speaking their names: Edith Brutman, Dan Elkayam, Boris Gurman, Sofia Gurman, Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Reuven Morrison, Marika Pogany, Eli Schlanger, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Tania Tretiak, Tibor Weitzen.

That day also showed the strength of Australia. Four people confronted the gunmen; all were shot, and three were killed. Surf lifesavers ran to help victims under fire, reminiscent of those firefighters on September 11 who ran up the stairs as others were running down. They included Jackson Doolan, who was photographed running barefoot from Tamarama—over a mile away—carrying a heavy medical bag. It was an honour today to meet some of those surf lifesavers, and I thank the Member for Kingsford Smith for hosting them here today and giving us the opportunity to personally thank them for their work. Those who helped on the day were migrants, volunteers, public servants and passers-by. In a moment of darkness, they showed the very best of what our nation has to offer.

In preparing today's remarks I spoke with Bondi Rabbi Dovid Slavin, who I've known for nearly a decade. Rabbi Slavin moved to Australia in the early 1990s. In 2005, he and his wife, Laya, established Our Big Kitchen in the Yeshivah Centre in Bondi. It provides meals, connection, employment to people who have been released from prison and volunteering opportunities for schoolchildren from Jewish and Muslim backgrounds, brought into cook a meal side by side. When I spoke with Rabbi Slavin, he told me that he is asking for the first time, 'Is Australia safe for Jewish people?' He reminded me of the context that is too easily forgotten. Most Jewish Australians have ancestors who were persecuted in the Holocaust, a memory that echoes down the generations. Rabbi Slavin notes that social cohesion is one of Australia's strongest assets. If that's lost, he told me, they won't just come for the Saturday people; they'll come for the Sunday people and then for the Friday people. Rabbi Slavin told me that gun reforms are important, but they're just a start. He said: 'Australia is at a crossroads. Either we can take this as a wake-up call to reconnect to our values, or it's the beginning of the end of the Australia we knew and loved.'

I say to all Jewish Australians: you are welcome in this nation. You are cherished in this nation. Your ancestors have been here since 1788. Jewish Australians are an integral part of modern Australia. At a ceremony here in parliament in the great hall, to honour the victims, Schmueli Feldman, a fifth-generation Australian rabbi with a strong connection to Bondi, said Jewish people will never be broken, and Australia will never be broken. He urged us to stand together against hate, violence and division. I've been pleased to join Rabbi Feldman at public events for Chabad ACT here in Canberra. Rabbi Feldman asked me in my speech to call on people of all faiths to perform a mitzvah, an act of kindness, compassion and moral responsibility. A mitzvah for Bondi can involve checking in on a neighbour, volunteering or donating to those in need.

On my desk is a quote the member for Isaacs taught to me. Pirkei Avot teaches, 'It is not upon you to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.' We've each of us learnt so much from Jewish Australians, who have contributed so much to this nation. May the victims rest in peace, and may the rest of us grow a little in the darkness of this terrible tragedy.

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