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Reuters

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed by an angry crowd gathered at the famous Bondi Beach on Sunday to honour the victims of a gun attack ‍a week earlier that targeted a seaside Jewish Hanukkah festival event.
The nation marked a day of reflection on Sunday to honour the 15 people killed and the dozens wounded in the attack by two gunmen. With security tight and flags at half-staff on government buildings, a minute of silence was held at 6.47pm local time, the time the attack began.
Television and radio networks paused for a minute’s silence.
Tens of thousands, including Albanese and other leaders, attended the memorial that ⁠was guarded by a heavy police presence, including snipers on rooftops and police boats in the waters.


Albanese was booed by the crowd on arrival, and later when the speaker mentioned his name during the memorial. He sat on the front row wearing a kippah, the traditional Jewish cap.
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 war in Gaza, was not scheduled to speak at the event.
The government has said it has consistently denounced antisemitism over the last two years and passed legislation to criminalise hate speech. It expelled the ‍Iranian ambassador earlier this year after accusing Tehran of directing two antisemitic arson attacks.
“We have lost our innocence … last week took our innocence,” David Ossip, the president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, said in a speech to start the proceedings at Bondi.
“Like the grass here at Bondi was stained with blood, so, too, has our nation been stained. We have landed up in a dark place. But friends, Hanukkah teaches us that light can illuminate even the bleakest of places. A single act of courage, a single ‌flame of hope, can give us direction and point the path forward.”
Also present at the memorial was the father of Ahmed al Ahmed, hailed as the “Bondi Hero” for wrestling a gun from one of the attackers.

Authorities invited ‍Australians to light a candle at home on Sunday night, the start of the eighth and final day of the Jewish festival of lights.
Speaking at the memorial, 14-year-old survivor Chaya Dadon said: “We are getting stronger as a nation. We are growing. Sometimes growing hurts … life is going to move on and why not make the best of it.”
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who was cheered and praised at the memorial, said the attack was an attempt to marginalise, scatter, intimidate and cause fear.
“You have reclaimed Bondi Beach for ‌us,” he ⁠said.
Albanese announced a review of the country’s police and intelligence agencies earlier on Sunday.
He said the review, to be led by a former chief of Australia’s spy agency, would investigate whether federal police and intelligence agencies have the “right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe”.
The attack exposed gaps in gun licence assessments and information sharing between agencies that policymakers have said they want to plug.
Albanese has announced a nationwide gun buy-back, while gun safety experts say the nation’s gun laws, among the world’s toughest, are riddled with loopholes.


Authorities are investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism ‌targeting Jews. Patrols and policing across the country have been ramped up to prevent further antisemitic violence. Authorities believe the gunmen were inspired by the militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.
“The Isis-inspired atrocity last Sunday reinforces the rapidly changing security environment in our nation. Our security agencies must be in the best position to respond,” Albanese said in a statement, adding that the ‌review would conclude by the end of April.
The Bondi Beach ‌attack was the most serious of a string of antisemitic incidents in Australia, which have included attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars, since Israel launched the war in October 2023, in response to an attack by Hamas.
Albanese condemned anti-immigration rallies being held in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday. Only about 200 people were at the Sydney rally.
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, has been charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism, according to police. He remains in custody in hospital.


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Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

Australia

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his wife are booed as they arrive at the Light Over Darkness vigil in Sydney, Australia on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

A man with an Australian flag draped over him attends the Light Over Darkness vigil at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Jews worldwide urged to ‘come home’ to Israel after Bondi massacre

A person with Israel’s flag and other people attend a ceremony to mark the National Day of Reflection for victims and survivors, at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Photo: AP

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men gather on the eighth night of Hanukkah in Jerusalem on Sunday. Photo: AP

Australia’s Albanese faces fierce battle over gun laws after Bondi Beach shooting

A wooden Star of David stands in a makeshift memorial to pay tribute to the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting on Bondi Beach. Photo: Reuters

Lifeguards line the Bondi Beach shoreline on Saturday to observe three minutes of silence for the victims of Sunday’s shootings. Photo: AAP/AP

One Nation’s Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce place flowers at a memorial in honour of the Bondi Beach victims on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Farmers harvest barley in Eugowra, Australia, on November 18. Photo: Reuters 

Bondi Beach shooting: millions raised for ‘hero of Australia’ who stopped gunman

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) meets Ahmed al Ahmed at a hospital in Sydney on Tuesday. Photo: Australian Prime Minister Office/AP

Ahmed Al Ahmed, who bravely tackled and disarmed a Bondi Beach attacker, now faces a difficult road to recovery. Photo: New South Wales Premier’s Department/AFP

A family reacts during a menorah lighting ceremony on Tuesday at a floral memorial for victims of Sunday’s Bondi Beach shooting. Photo: AP

Netanyahu accuses Australia’s PM of inaction in tackling antisemitism

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Reuters

World leaders express horror at Bondi Beach terror attack as vigils are held for victims

People hold a vigil outside the Australian High Commission in central London, Britain on Sunday following a terrorist attack on a Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Photo: PA Wire / dpa

Candles burn following the Sunday attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia on Monday morning. Photo: Reuters

Forensic officers on Monday stand on the bridge where gunmen opened fire at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Sunday. Photo: EPA

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, centre, and his wife Elke Buedenbender attend a vigil for the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack, in Berlin, Germany on Sunday. Photo: AP

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Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats


Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats.


Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats

Tens of thousands attended Sunday’s memorial. The Sydney event was heavily guarded by police, including snipers on rooftops and police boats