Australians and the world have been left horrified and reeling after at least 16 people were killed, with another 40 injured following a mass shooting involving two gunmen at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.
NSW police declared the incident a terrorist attack, which began at about 6.40pm on December 14.
Alongside a typically busy beach on a warm Sunday evening, hundreds of families gathered at Bondi Beach Park for the free annual Chanukah by the Sea, organised by the Chabad of Bondi, to celebrate the start of the eight-day Jewish “Festival of Lights”.
Police say 14 people died at the scene, including one of the attackers, and 42 people, including four children, were taken to hospitals across Sydney.
Overnight, two more people, including a 10-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man, died in hospital. Five people remain in critical conditions while the remainder are in serious and stable conditions.
Two police – a constable and probationary constable – suffered gunshot wounds.
Those who died are yet to be formally identified, but are believed to be aged between 10 and 87-years-old.
Women place an Israeli flag next to an Australian one on a gate outside Bondi Pavilion on Monday. Photo: AP Photo/Mark Baker
The UK-born rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, is among those killed according to the BBC with his family confirming his death. Rabbi Schlanger has five children include a son born in October.
Guardian Australia reported an Israeli citizen also died according to the Israeli foreign ministry.
One gunmen, a 50-year-old man, was shot by police and died at the scene. The other terrorist, aged 24, has critical injuries and is in hospital under police guard.
The SMH reports that the attackers were father and son, Naveed Akram, 24, an unemployed bricklayer, and Sajid Akram, 50, a fruit shop owner, from Bonnyrigg in south-western Sydney.
They reportedly told family they were heading to on a fishing trip. Detectives found three firearms at the scene.
Police raided a house in Bonnyrigg and made two arrests.
A father of two, identified as Ahmed el Ahmed, aged 43, has been hailed as a hero for disarming one of the gunman after rushing him from behind and wrestling with the attacker before pulling the shotgun from his hands and pointing it at him. The SMH reported that el Ahmed suffered gunshot wounds to his arm and hand and is recovering in hospital. Footage from the moment appears to show the other gunman firing at him from atop the pedestrian bridge the two men used as the vantage point for their attack.
Police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
Tech sector reacts
Australia’s tech sector has strong Jewish representation. Among many Startup Daily spoke to, this deadly antisemitism felt like the inevitable conclusion to the rising alarm and fear the community’s felt in recent years. We collected the thoughts of some, taken from LinkedIn, to share how people are feeling.
Rampersand cofounder Paul Naphtali eloquently captured the loss of words many feel today with a post on LinkedIn.
Rampersand’s Paul Naphtali
He wrote:
What do we say?
What do we say to our kids who were sent home from our Chanukah party in Melbourne that was shut down due to fear it could happen here. Who may now see footage from Sydney of people who were gunned down simply for being jewish.
What do we say to our political leaders who have done nothing to address the growing hatred in the streets. Not just hatred of the Jews, hatred of the Australian way of life.
What do we say to the people who tell us we’re weaponising antisemitism, and who just shrug at the massive increase in violence, threats and abuse towards Jews here in Australia.
What do we say to our friends in Sydney and particularly in Bondi, Jewish and non-Jewish, who have had their peace in one of the most beautiful and safest cities in the world shattered.
What do we say to the dozens of non-jewish Australians who have reached out to express their horror and solidarity. Just saying thank you isn’t enough. And just saying we’re scared and angry isn’t enough either.
This is not a rhetorical question. I’m genuinely at a loss to know what to say. That this could happen in this great country, a place that has been a refuge for Jewish people for so long – six generations in my family so far – and that our community has contributed so much to.
Seriously. What do we say?
And more importantly what do we do. We cannot stand by. Thoughts and prayers won’t cut it. This must not happen again. This must not be our reality. This must be the last time we feel this.
F5 Collective founder and CEO Tracey Warren said
“Today I stand with them and I stand firmly against antisemitism, hatred and violence in all forms,” she said.
“The horrific violence that occurred in Bondi is heartbreaking. There is no place for fear and extremism in our communities. Solidarity matters. Speaking up matters. Choosing humanity always matters.”
Catapult Sports chair and tech podcaster Adir Shiffman said the Bondi attack must not be viewed solely through the lens of antisemitism.
“It is a hugely dangerous attack on this nation as a whole. The massacre represents the attempted destruction of our fundamental, shared Australian values,” he wrote.
“More than any other event in our history, it imperils the very notion of this country as a global model for assimilation and multiculturalism.
“Not just for Jews, but for everyone who holds dear their own cultural background whilst simultaneously embracing their Australian identity.”
Xylo Systems founder Camille Goldstone-Henry paid tribute to the community she lives in and loves.
Xylo Systems cofounder and CEO Camille Goldstone-Henry
I wouldn’t blame you for not knowing.
Not with the weekend traffic on Bondi Road.
Not with the crowds flocking to the water on a hot summer day.
But Bondi’s foundation is the people.
They say Bondi is transient, vain, touristy.
But to those who call it home, it’s layered, it’s generous.
It’s people bound by salt and sun.
It’s the English backpackers who came for three months and stayed forever, finding family in a 6am swim group.
It’s a block of apartments on Ocean Street.
Newlyweds.
New parents.
And the elderly woman who’s lived there forty years, leaving chocolates at your door, wishing you Happy Hanukkah, even though you’re not Jewish.
It’s walking down Bondi Road and locking eyes with someone from the surf club. A nod. A smile.
You’re safe here.
It’s dog parents huddled at Marks Park
on a cold winter morning, bonding over muddy paws.
It’s the collective pause when a whale breaches on a fresh spring morning, strangers united in awe along the coastal walk.
That is the real Bondi.
That is the Bondi we protect.
The Bondi we stand shoulder to shoulder for.
And that is the Bondi we will never allow to be divided by hate.
For Melbourne lawyer and Woodlands Early Learning founder
“In the early hours of this morning, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Bondi, I received a call I will never forget,” he wrote.
Serial entrepreneur and investor tackled a common trope in antisemitism, which links Jewish heritage to the policies of the state of Israel, titled “The Jews Aren’t That Bad”.
Iman Eftekhari, founder of Agile HR Analytics, said he left the site of the attack just 20 minutes beforehand because his son was tired and wanted to go home
“I can’t believe we’re experiencing events like this in the world and especially here in Australia. I hope we find our way to a world with less division and more respect for each other,” he said.
“Nothing can justify such actions, and we should all condemn this kind of violence without any excuse. My heart is with everyone impacted, and with the families and friends who are grieving.”
“My cousin in Bondi informed me that her cousin — the Rabbi of the Chabad synagogue — was shot and murdered. Her 12-year-old son was hit by shrapnel in the neck and, by sheer miracle, survived. Her cousin’s daughter was shot in the leg. Her nephew was shot and is tonight in critical but stable condition. Many others are in hospital right now, fighting for their lives.
“These are not headlines. These are real people. Families. Children.
“My cousin is a pillar of her community — calm, measured, deeply committed to Australia as her home. She grew up in New York and chose to build her life here after marrying an Australian. She loves this country.
“But as the call ended, she said something that broke my heart: “Our country is wrecked and they don’t give a crap about us.”
“That sentence has stayed with me. This is how many in the Jewish community are feeling right now — frightened, exposed, and profoundly alone. Not asking for special treatment. Just wanting to feel seen, protected, and valued as fellow Australians.
If you have Jewish friends, colleagues, neighbours — please reach out. A message. A call. A simple “I’m thinking of you.” It matters more than you realise.
“This is about humanity. About standing with people who are hurting. And about reminding one another that no community should ever feel abandoned in the country they call home.”