Among many of the members of the Jewish community who gathered near the site of the shooting on Monday, there was anger over what they said had been the failure of the federal government to do enough to address concerns about rising antisemitism in Australia.
“We feel very let down by the Australian government,” said Ahron Eisman, 37, who said his next door neighbor was among the killed. “We’ve been saying it’s only a matter of time.”
His brother, Chaimy, said the government had been lackluster in responding to the attacks on Jewish institutions and businesses, including arson and graffiti, and the pitched rhetoric in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks against Israel. “We don’t feel safe here,” he said.
Pearl, a woman who said she was at the Hanukkah event but did not want to give her last name, said she was shaken that a joyous, happy festival that was a stalwart of the Jewish community of Bondi had been targeted. “We were so targeted in that little space, we were like sitting ducks,” she said.
Yvonne Haber, a three-decade resident of Bondi, said the beach had been at the core of Sydney’s Jewish community since the first refugees arrived after World War II. To have it targeted in the shooting was devastating, she said.
“We’ve been walking around on tenterhooks, as Jews,” said Ms. Haber, 62. “This is our worst nightmare.”
Jillian Segal, who was appointed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year as Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism in response to the spate of attacks, said in a statement that the mass shooting was the culmination of a “clear pattern” that had led up to this point.
“What once seemed distant or uncomfortable can no longer be ignored,” she said.
Victoria Kim is the Australia correspondent for The New York Times, based in Sydney, covering Australia, New Zealand and the broader Pacific region.
The post Some Australian Jews Accuse the Government of Failing to Heed Warnings appeared first on New York Times.
