The footbridge at Bondi Beach, from where the gunmen unleashed their terror almost a week ago to the hour, has become a makeshift shrine. Flowers are propped against one side of the bridge, under chalk sketches of a menorah, an Australian flag and a bee, a nod to the middle name of the 10-year-old girl, Matilda, who was killed in the attack.
There’s a sign on the bridge saying that it was the site of a terrible tragedy for the local community.
A floral tribute at the site of last Sunday’s terrorist attack at Bondi Beach Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
“Please be respectful and consider others when moving through,” it reads. Immediately below the sign is another, this one homemade: “Replace anger with beauty.” There’s another opposite that says “Replace hate with love.”
Beside the footbridge, a group of men from Chabad Bondi is giving out doughnuts, a nod to the Hanukkah tradition of oil in the temple. Near them, two women dressed as bumblebees are raising money for the families of the two rabbis who died.
One of the women is Rivky Shuchat, who founded the not-for-profit organisation Jewish Education Matters. She was at the event last week dressed as a dreidel, a spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side, and left only minutes before the shooting to brighten another Hanukkah event with her costume. She knew both rabbis personally. “Their children are in my children’s classes,” she says. “I just want to help them.
“We are standing here in memory of Matilda, asking people if they want to do a kind deed, to put a smile on the face of the children of the rabbis who were killed here a week ago. We won’t be able to bring their father back, but what we can do is financially support them.”
Standing next to the bridge is “very painful, but I just need to do kindness,” she says. “Kindness is so important right now. It’s the only thing keeping me sane.”
There are estimated to be hundreds of police in the area, including the tactical response unit.
Security firm CSG, the organisation contracted to do security work by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, also has a heavy presence.
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