Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met privately with families of victims of the Bondi massacre at a synagogue on Tuesday night, after publicly defending his decision to invite Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Australia and decrying “devastating” scenes of violence between police and protesters.
Herzog joined Albanese and members at the Chabad of Bondi synagogue, reading Hebrew prayers and embracing relatives of the 15 people killed in the December 14 terrorist attack.
The small temple at the heart of the synagogue was packed to capacity, but some seats remained empty.
They belonged to Reuven Morrison, who had occupied a place in the front row, Tibor Weitzen two rows back, and Alex Kleytman, next to an aisle at the rear.
Albanese read aloud the names of the three men and all the other victims as the families of those killed stood up.
“The terrorists sought to instil fear in the Jewish people – we will respond with renewed Jewish pride,” Herzog told the congregation.
“They sought to divide our people with religious hate – we will respond with solidarity between all people of moral conscience of all faiths.
“They sought to turn our festivals into mourning – we will come together, determined and unified, to celebrate our traditions, our heritage, our people.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Albanese described footage of police clashing with protesters in Sydney on Monday as “devastating”, saying: “All Australians would have found those scenes very confronting.”
Nine people have been charged with an array of public order offences. Some of those injured said police used excessive violence, citing videos of officers dragging people along the ground and punching others who had already been restrained.
“I note that the NSW Police have said they will examine the footage which was taken last night,” he said.
Albanese said he made no apology for inviting Herzog to Australia as he urged politicians, including the Greens, to turn down the temperature on the debate.
“President Herzog is here in Australia to offer sympathy and solidarity to people who are mourning and offer his support to members of Australia’s Jewish community,” Albanese said.
“I will treat President Herzog with respect. I’ve known him for a long period of time. He is someone who you can have a respectful discussion with, whilst examining differences which are there.”
Noting his government had recognised Palestinian statehood and spoken out against civilian deaths in Gaza, Albanese said: “The debate is not advanced by people thinking it’s like a football team, where you have to support 100 per cent one side or the other side. That does not advance peace … I believe very strongly that we need to engage with both Israelis and Palestinians as we go forward.”
While the prime minister attended the Bondi event, protected by a huge police presence, protesters gathered in Harmony Park in Surry Hills to rally against the police response to Monday’s demonstration. Some yelled “shame” and “cops bash women”.
Independent MP Allegra Spender, whose electorate includes Bondi, called for a “clear investigation” into allegations of police brutality against protesters in Sydney on Monday, saying while she was not present at any protests she was disturbed by the images she saw.
“I think everyone has been distressed by the images overnight, and I think that this is really, in the next few days … a question [of] how can we make sure that as much as possible, you know, we just take the temperature down,” Spender said.
Fellow independent Zali Steggall said: “I think the prime minister bears the blame of this situation. This was entirely foreseeable, and that’s why I wrote to him, asking him to reconsider and to really clarify [why Herzog was invited].
“Why are we having the leader of a foreign state here causing social disruption and impacting our social cohesion, if we are Australians first and foremost?”
Greens leader Larissa Waters said: “We cannot ignore what we can see with our own eyes. This was state violence. And the blame lies with the NSW Labor government for attempting to shut down legitimate protest, and the federal Labor government who invited the head of a state committing genocide to our shores.”
The government’s special envoy for tackling antisemitism, Jillian Segal, told Senate estimates on Tuesday that Jewish Australians had been living in a “climate of fear” since the October 7 attacks and subsequent war in Gaza.
She said “antisemitism in Australia has reached a point where sustained, co-ordinated national action is no longer optional”.
“It’s essential for community safety, for social cohesion and for the integrity of our democracy,” she said. “The events at Bondi marked, I think, a profound turning point for the nation.”
Segal said her report on combating antisemitism, which contained some contentious recommendations, remained “a relevant and important blueprint for action” as she urged the government to implement it as quickly as possible.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin co-chief executive said at the Bondi Chabad event on Tuesday night: “There are those who have questioned why our community needs the president of Israel at this time. They do not understand what it means to be Jewish.”
Rather than a distant country, Ryvchin said that Israel “is an idea, the idea of the restoration of Jewish self-determination to the lands in which we first dwelt and which we defended thousands of years ago”.
“Together, we need to end the lunacy where our children require the protection of the police, where for us to meet here today with our friends and family we require a security operation the likes of which this country has never seen.
“Our hands are outstretched to all Australians who dream of something better and love this country enough to make it so.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Herzog visited Moriah College, a Jewish school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and took questions from students.
During his Australian trip, Herzog is expected to also visit Canberra and Melbourne.
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