Sydney Opera House menorah tribute to Bondi Beach victims -Screenshot Yahoo Australia TikTok video
In keeping with the leadership of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the time of the Christchurch mosque massacres in 2019, the author has chosen not to name the gunmen.
Wikipedia has detailed information about the shooters. The 50-year-old father, who was killed by police at the scene, moved to Australia from India in 1998. His 24-year-old son was born in Australia. He had been flagged by the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in 2019 for having links to radical Islamist groups. Just two years before, his father was granted a gun licence. He owned six legal weapons.
The surviving attacker has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder.
It has also emerged that the pair visited the southern Philippines recently, where it is suspected they had terrorist training.
News of the shootings was greeted with shock, disbelief, grief, anger, tributes to the victims, and gratitude to those who risked their lives to defend others.
Calls by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the nation to unite were met with mixed responses. Many Jewish people and the government’s political opponents criticized the government for not doing enough to combat antisemitism and protect lives. The role of the national security organisation ASIO and the preparedness of police forces have also been put under public scrutiny.
Government critics condemned the government’s response as too slow, arguing that strengthening gun laws and hate speech legislation was not enough. The PM pledged to take other steps, including implementing a plan to combat antisemitism
by the Australian Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, released in July 2025. The plan was controversial at the time for a number of reasons. The government will also review migration to “weed out” antisemites and racists within Australia.
On Facebook, Kon Karapanagiotidis, founder and CEO of the Asylum Resource Centre, urged Australians to resist attempts to attack immigrants:
In 2017 Greek Australian James Gargasoulas deliberately ploughed a car into pedestrians in Melbourne tragically killing 6 & injuring 27 other Australians. In the aftermath there was no calls to reassess Greek immigration to Australia. As a Greek 🇬🇷 Australian I was not asked to explain himself, to have to distance myself from this or justify my right to still be seen as an Australian. 🇦🇺
I want people to remember this as those who seek to divide us are already trying to make the actions of two evil bigoted men who acted alone the actions of a whole people. Now is the time for unity, solidarity and coming together as Australians.
The Federal opposition has been especially critical, with Jewish former member of parliament and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg scathing in his attacks. He would like to see a Royal Commission and wants action taken to stop protests about Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Anthony Albanese for the attack, claiming that the Australian government’s decision to recognize Palestine “pours fuel on the antisemitism fire.” At Pearls and Irritations, a former Anglican bishop and current Patron of Palestinian Christians in Australia strongly condemned Netanyahu’s remarks:
The cause, the provocation, lies in Israel. The killing of 60,000+ Gazans is provocative. The use of starvation as a weapon of war is provocative. The imprisonment of young children who throw stones is provocative. The alienation of large swathes of Palestinian land in the West Bank is provocative. The removal of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem is provocative.
No, Mr Netanyahu, Mr Albanese is not responsible for any antisemitism in Australia, you are. You are similarly responsible for its growing presence in the US, Britain, Europe and many other places throughout the world.
Other aspects of the tragedy have shown some of the best of humankind.
Selfless acts at the scene were shared and praised by countless people online. One hero of the day tackled one of the gunmen and took his rifle from him. Almed al-Almed received several gunshots to the shoulder following his intervention. Video of this remarkable moment has filled screens across the world:
Almed is originally from Syria.
Another man, Reuven Morrison, was killed by gunfire after throwing rocks at the retreating gunman:
He had migrated from the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
It emerged on Tuesday that a local Jewish couple, Boris and Sofia Gurman, had been run over by the gunmen in thier car after Boris wrestled a rifle from one of them:
Others, such as Sydney’s iconic surf lifeguards, put their lives at risk to help victims of the attack. One ran from a beach 1.5 kilometers away with a defibrillator. It gives a whole new meaning to Bondi Rescue, a reality TV series in which Jackson Doolan has featured.
There have been hundreds of flower tributes at a makeshift memorial at Bondi Beach.
An online fundraiser for Almed al-Ahmed raised over AUD 2.5 million (USD 1.65 million) within days. A word of warning. Scammers have been creating fake fundraisers and even cryptocurrencies named after victims.
On Mastodon, looking for explanations… (Susan60) shared this moment of unity and hope:
On TikTok, Yahoo Australia posted a video of a menorah projected onto the Sydney Opera House in tribute to the victims:
@yahooaustralia Sydney Opera House lights up with Hanukkah menorah after Bondi terror attack. #yahooaustralia
The print media has had extensive coverage of the shootings and their aftermath. The two Melbourne dailies had extended. The Age devoted the first 17 pages on the following Wednesday, with rival Herald Sun coming a close second with 14 pages. These were their front pages for Thursday:
Melbourne daily newspapers 18 December 2025 – author's photo
Coverage by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) has been very extensive, on TV, radio, and online. It has a detailed report here.
This tragic day will be remembered for the considerable video that dominated screens of all kinds, many taken on smartphones and one on a dash cam.
On December 18th, the Prime Minister presented his government’s detailed plan to tackle antisemitism following the Bondi Beach attack. He was joined by the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal:
His pledge to implement her report recommendations has drawn criticism similar to that expressed when it was first released. Deep Cut News reacted online:
… the Albanese government will have handed Jillian Segal — the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism and an unelected appointee — wide-ranging powers to monitor media outlets, school and university curricula, cultural institutions and the public service.
… Originally released in July, the plan was roundly criticised by human rights groups, Palestinian advocacy organisations and some Jewish bodies for proposing crackdowns on freedom of speech and conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
There have been a number of funerals of those who lost their lives, including the youngest, 10-year-old Matilda. In a gesture of healing, thousands paid tribute at a paddle-out by surfers after the beach reopened on Friday. Guilherme Tozetti shared this video, Bondi Stands Together, on TikTok:
@guitozetti Bondi stands together. #bondi #bondibeach
As France 24 English reported, lifesavers joined the commemorations:
On an overcast morning, hundreds of Bondi lifeguards lined up on the beach, looked out at the sea and remembered the lives lost in the massacre at the Hanukkah celebration almost one week ago.
Finally, Sunday 21 December was declared a day of reflection with Australians asked to put a candle in their window at 6:47 pm, with a separate day of mourning to be held in the new year.
