A shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, on December 14, 2023, left 16 people dead and dozens wounded, prompting a national reckoning with rising antisemitism and questions about security for religious gatherings. The attack at Bondi Beach, carried out by Sadjid and Navid Akram and now classified as a terrorist act, has deeply shaken the Australian Jewish community and amplified concerns over vulnerability in the wake of the October 7th attacks on israel. This article features an exclusive interview with Olga Nemirovskaya,a Sydney resident,who details a marked increase in hostility and fear within her community following the attack and a growing sense of unease in the lead-up to the tragic event.
The shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, on December 14, 2023, has left 16 people dead and dozens wounded, sparking fears of rising antisemitism and prompting questions about security measures for religious communities worldwide. The attack, which took place at Bondi Beach, has shaken the Jewish community in Australia and beyond, and highlighted a growing sense of vulnerability felt by Jewish people since the October 7th attacks on Israel by Hamas.
Olga Nemirovskaya, a 65-year-old Jewish resident of Sydney who lives near Bondi Beach, described a marked increase in antisemitism in the area since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Nemirovskaya, who immigrated to Australia from Odessa in 1996, said the traditionally peaceful neighborhood has experienced a surge in hostility.
“In our area, there are many Russian-speaking Jews. Here, you have a lot of Polish people in one area, French in another; in our area, it’s Jews. Bondi Beach is a six-minute drive from us,” she explained. “It’s always been very peaceful here, no disturbances, no drunkards, no fights, no kind of crime. But since recently – I would say since October 7th two years ago, when that catastrophe happened in Israel – antisemites have started to become active.”
The woman stated that regular attacks on people and businesses have been occurring in the wake of the conflict.
“Every week there are these ‘Free Palestine!’ rallies – people march with flags, shouting. The day after October 7th, Israeli flags were burned near our famous opera house, and people were shouting that Jews should be killed, that ‘If you see a Jew – kill him!’” she recounted.
While hate speech is illegal in Australia, Nemirovskaya said those who made the threats have not been punished. She also noted that pro-Hamas flags were displayed at a recent pro-Palestinian demonstration, and that police offered no intervention, citing the principles of democracy.
“People have also started to be afraid to wear the traditional Jewish head covering – the kippah. Just on television, a woman whose relative died yesterday [in the Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney] said that this year they are afraid to light the menorah in their window. And yesterday it all ended like this – with tragedy. My husband and I usually go to Bondi Beach every year during these holidays. They light a huge menorah there, there are dances, they bake very tasty latkes. We meet friends, I meet my clients. Yesterday, we can say,
only by chance didn’t go – we were elsewhere during the day, we were tired, it was hot, we had to go to work in the morning. I decided – it’s only the first day of the holiday, there will be more. So we didn’t go. But others did,” Nemirovskaya said.
Several of her friends were among those killed in the attack.
“One couple – they are even visible in a short video posted online. The man, Boris, tried to take the gun from the shooter, but he was shot. And his wife, Sofiya, Sofochka, too. Tomorrow would have been her birthday, she was my friend. Very good people, kind. And another family – my clients. The man, I think, was seventy-eight years old – his name was Tibor. He covered his wife – Eva – with his body. He died, she survived,” she said. She also recognized others among the victims from photographs.
Nemirovskaya emphasized that the victims were not targeted as Jews, but as Australians. “This is an attack on Australia, on us, on our country’s peaceful life, on our freedom. Everything we had has been destroyed, because nothing like this has ever happened here before. But I don’t want to say anything bad about all Muslims. We have many Muslims here, many I know personally,” she continued. “Recently, some were repairing our house – normal people, who don’t bother with the fact that they are Muslims and we are Jews. They don’t care. And we don’t care either. But I think it’s all about the money, that it’s all being paid for – by Hamas and all the others who are pushing these things.”
When asked how politicians should respond, Olga said she and her acquaintances are hoping for a change in government.
“This government has done nothing. They voted in the UN to recognize Palestine. Two thousand Jews gathered at Bondi Beach, and there were only two police officers there! I don’t know how many more should have been there, twenty times more,” she stated.
“Today, a police car is parked in front of every synagogue. What’s the point, if it’s all already happened?! I go to the synagogue on Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. Then, at the entrance, you have to go through a metal detector. But here – they knew there would be such an event, and no one did anything!” Nemirovskaya said angrily.
CONTEXT:
On Sunday, December 14, 2023, two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killing 16 and wounding 40 people. The shooting at one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations was carried out by Sadjid Akram, an Indian citizen, and his son Navid Akram.
Sadjid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while Navid Akram was wounded and remains in critical condition. Authorities have classified the shooting as a terrorist act.
