While the Jewish community gathered in Sydney to mark the first night of Hanukkah, our community was subjected to a horrific act of violence.
This is a day of profound grief. Members of our community have been murdered. Others have been seriously wounded. Families are shattered. A sacred moment of light has been turned into darkness.
We are working urgently with authorities as further details are confirmed. Our focus right now is on the victims, their families, and the safety of the community.
An attack on Australia
Let me be clear. An attack on Jews celebrating their faith is an attack on Australia itself. It is an assault on our values, our social cohesion, and the basic right of people to gather without fear.
This did not occur in a vacuum. For years, antisemitic incitement, vilification, and intimidation have been allowed to grow unchecked. When hatred is normalized, violence follows. Tonight, that warning has become reality.
We mourn those who have lost their lives. We pray for the wounded and for the families waiting in anguish. And we stand united, determined that terror and hatred will not drive Jews from public life in this country.
Australia must respond with moral clarity, decisive leadership, and action. Anything less would be a betrayal of those we lost tonight.
The writer is the president of the Zionist Federation of Australia.