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Grief and defiance as Melbourne women gather for Bondi vigil
Looking around at the sea of women dressed in white, Ginette Searle said she was still in deep mourning after Jewish people were targeted and slain in the Bondi terror attack: “We’re all feeling it, as if it happened to us.
“But this community is strong,” the former CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia said. “We will hold each other up, and we know that the broader community will also hold us up – that gives us some comfort.”
Seven days on from the horror that claimed the lives of 15 people, conversation at the gathering in Melbourne on Sunday morning repeatedly turned to the Jewish traditional of shiva – a week-long intense grieving period to remember the dead, starting immediately after their funerals.
The common expression is “sitting shiva” – being perched on a small stool for seven days and seven nights, low-spirited and in quiet remembrance of your loved ones.
So there sat 100 women in white on Sunday morning. Quiet. Reflective. United in their grief and fiery resolve to ensure an attack like the Bondi shooting never happens again.
The group had gathered in Caulfield North to watch the livestream of a vigil at Bondi Pavilion in Sydney on Sunday morning, organised by the National Council of Jewish Women Australia.
Outside the pavilion, a procession of mourners delicately placed single-stemmed flowers one by one, before retreating into the arms of family and friends nearby.
Attendees from across the political spectrum attended the Sydney women’s vigil, including senior Labor MPs Tanya Plibersek and Michelle Rowland, Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh, independent MPs Monique Ryan and Zali Steggall, and Govenor-General Sam Mostyn.
The images from Sydney opened up a window of connection and shared grief with the women listening quietly from Melbourne.
When those who had gathered were encouraged to share a gesture of peace with the person next to them, strangers and loved ones alike embraced, tears springing to their eyes. Hands stretched out across aisles and over seat backs as people hoped to find the warmth and solidarity of another person carrying the same awful sorrow.
“Inside me is a jumble of emotions. It’s a combination of anger, grief, despair and defiance,” Liora Miller, vice president of the women’s council, said from the Melbourne event.
“I’ve sort of prevented myself from thinking too deeply about what happened because I would just want to curl into a ball; it’s just too terrible.
“So we’ve just spent this week doing what we can as an organisation to support our community and speak to wider Australia, and we say enough is enough – you cannot continue to allow this to happen on your watch.”
Sunday morning’s vigil of about 100 Melbourne women – from Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds – was part the National Day of Reflection for the victims of the Bondi terror attack.
Australians were encouraged to light a candle at 6.47pm, exactly a week since shots rang out at Bondi Beach.
With Sunday representing the final night of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, young people gathered at Federation Square on Sunday evening for the Pillars of Light event to share doughnuts, spin the four-sided tops known as dreidels and light menorah candles.
Melbourne pauses to remember victims
Premier Jacinta Allan and Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece joined members of the Jewish community at the festival, for the lighting of the Menorah and for the moment of silence at 6.47pm. Allan and Reece also joined the prayers and dancing.
Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann, the director of the festival, said Allan was attending for the second time.
“The premier called me up and said ‘Rabbi Gabi, I’m coming, but I don’t need to talk, I don’t need the pulpit, I just want to be there and be with your community’,” Kaltmann said.
“We are heartened to have that support [from political leaders] and from everyday Australians – I’ve had so many come up to me in person, at the shops or have reached out via email or text. We are thankful for that support.”
A number of Victorian landmarks also lit up honouring the Bondi attack victims including the Arts Centre, Bolte Bridge and Federation Square.
In a moment of hope, a man successfully proposed to his now fiancee after the ceremony.
A concert to “dispel the darkness” and unite in song will also take place at Glen Eira Town Hall on Sunday night.
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson attended the Caulfield North gathering on Sunday morning and said that one week on from the Bondi attack, the sadness of Australia’s Jewish community was immense but the “sense of community [and] togetherness” was stronger than ever.
Miller said it was long past time for Premier Jacinta Allan to act and take credible warnings of increasing antisemitism seriously.
“When hatred is allowed to fester, when intimidation goes unchecked, when clear lines are not drawn, a tragedy becomes just a matter of time, not a possibility,” she said.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a review of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to examine their performance in the lead-up to the attack.
Read more: Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to be reviewed following Bondi attack
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