Bondi Beach Attack: A Nation Remembers with Tears and Silence

Sun Dec 21 2025 22:18:38 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As Australia reflects on the tragic Bondi Beach attack, a national moment of silence pays homage to the victims, amid rising tensions and security concerns.

In a heartfelt tribute to the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting, mourners across Australia observed a moment of silence, acknowledging the loss of 15 lives, including a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor. The event highlighted rising antisemitic sentiments and the criticism faced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was met with boos upon arrival. Calls for government accountability and a Royal Commission echoed in memorial speeches, as the nation grapples with the aftermath of this tragic event.

Mourners in Australia have fallen silent in honour of the victims of the Bondi Beach attack.

The memorial was part of a national day of reflection to mark a week since the shooting in which two gunmen opened fire on an event celebrating the Jewish festival of Hannukah.

A 10-year-old girl, a British-born rabbi and a Holocaust survivor were among the 15 people killed during the attack.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed when he arrived at the memorial event - an expression of anger by Australia's Jewish community against his government after a rise of antisemitic attacks over the past few months.

As the sun set over Sydney on Sunday evening, a minute's silence was observed at 18:47 (07:47 GMT) - exactly one week since the first reports of gunfire at the famous beach.

There was heavy security at the memorial event. Some cordoned-off areas were guarded by armed riot squad officers who had their faces covered, while a police patrol boat was visible off the coast of Bondi Beach.

For many Australians, this level of security is an unfamiliar sight.

A large crowd - many wearing kippas [the Jewish skullcap] or draped in Australian flags - gathered to listen to speeches after the observing the silence.

Bee balloons floated in the wind in honour of the youngest victim of the attack, Matilda - a reference to her nickname, Matilda Bee.

And later in the ceremony, the crowd sang Waltzing Matilda, the song for which the 10-year-old was named.

Soon, they were chanting the name of another child - Chaya, a 14-year-old who put herself in the firing line to protect a stranger's children. Shot in the leg, she used crutches to take to the stage and urge the nation to be brave and kind.

If you guys get inspired by one thing, one thing on all this, be the light in that field of darkness, she said.

The event ended with the lighting of the menorah - something the crowds gathered for Hannukah last week couldn't do.

Sunday's memorial was not limited to Bondi Beach - or the state of New South Wales. In a nation-wide gesture of light over darkness, the windowsills of countless homes were lined with candles.

In contrast to the reception for the Australian prime minister, Chris Minns, the Premier of New South Wales, was praised at the Sydney memorial service as an exemplary leader, partly for the speed with which he admitted government errors in the lead-up to the attack.

He also attended the funerals of several victims this week. Albanese was not invited to some.

We are deeply sorry. Minns said at the event. We grieve with you, and with humility, I acknowledge that the government's highest duty is to protect its citizens. And we did not do that one week ago.

The president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, David Ossip, was hailed with loud cheers as he called for a Royal Commission which goes beyond New South Wales, to get to the bottom of how this catastrophe took place.

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