Massive Crowd for Hanukkah Candle Lighting at Bondi Beach

Beege Welborn

Bless them all. #BondiStrong

It was a deeply overwhelming experience at Bondi today. Two things struck me. First, the visible grief and pain - as survivors of the attack emotionally shared their experiences, while family members of those who died mourned their loss, as people from all backgrounds lined up to… pic.twitter.com/q5Pb8sJcWV

— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) December 15, 2025

...as people from all backgrounds lined up to honour the dead with flowers.

But also the songs and the messages from the Jewish community. It really hit me that, for me as an Australian, an attack like this is extremely rare. 

Yet watching Jewish people sing and pray, it was clear this is something they have tragically seen time and again. They know how to mourn their dead. Becayse they've had to do it repeatedly - because this is just another in a long line of evil acts committed against them. And now, it has happened in Australia.

The messages from the Jewish community to the crowd were consistent, drawing meaning from Hanukkah - the very festival that was targeted by such an unthinkably horrific act in this country.

One young Jewish man addressing the crowd said, “The best of us died - the people who tried to protect others.” He urged everyone to honour them by bringing light into the world, not darkness, and to not give in to the same hate that was perpetrated on them yesterday.

"The whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the main thing is not to be afraid at all."

Kol HaOlam Kulo Gesher Tzar Me’od