SYDNEY, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that the country’s Jewish community was “completely unbreakable” after attending a memorial event at a Sydney synagogue for the victims of a gun attack on a seaside celebration of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.
The mass shooting at Bondi Beach last Sunday was Australia’s worst in nearly 30 years and is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting Jews. Authorities have ramped up patrols and policing across the country to prevent further antisemitic violence.
Albanese said the event he attended at the Great Synagogue in Sydney on Friday night showed “the spirit of our Jewish Australian community is completely unbreakable”.
“It was a night of unity, resilience, comfort, faith and love,” Albanese said in remarks televised from Canberra, ahead of a national day of reflection on Sunday to honour the 15 people killed and dozens wounded in a gun attack allegedly carried out by a father and son.
Albanese, under pressure from critics who say his centre-left government has not done enough to curb a surge in antisemitism since the start of the Gaza war, has vowed to strengthen hate laws in the wake of the massacre.
The government of New South Wales state, where Sydney is located, has also pledged a raft of reforms, including a tightening of hate and gun control laws.
It pledged on Saturday to introduce a bill on Monday to ban the display of “terrorist organisations” symbols and flags, including those of the al-Qaeda, Al Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic State groups.
“The displaying of these symbols can only be done by someone who’s either deranged or has an intention to insult and intimidate and scare,” Attorney General Michael Daley said in a televised media conference in Sydney.
LIFESAVERS RETURN TO BONDI BEACH
Around 1,000 surf lifesavers returned to duty at Bondi Beach on Saturday, restarting regular patrols after a halt sparked by the shooting, the aftermath of which resulted in road closures across the famed beachside suburb for several days.
The Bondi Beach volunteer and professional surf lifesavers, in their distinctive red and yellow uniforms, lined the sand on Saturday morning for two minutes of silence to honour the shooting victims, Surf Life Saving Australia said.
Peter Agnew, the group’s president, said in televised remarks that the tribute was “out of respect to the Jewish community and also to support each other this morning”.
Australia’s Jewish community on Friday gathered at Bondi Beach for prayers, while hundreds of swimmers and surfers formed a huge circle in the waters off the beach to honour victims.
Alleged gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene.
His 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, who was also shot by police and emerged from a coma on Tuesday afternoon, has been charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism, according to police. They believe the pair was inspired by militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Saad Sayeed)
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