|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Australia’s Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, established in the aftermath of last December’s Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre, held its first public hearing on Monday in Sydney.
Among those offering testimony was CAM Public Affairs Advocate for Australia Sheina Gutnick, daughter of the late Reuven Morrison who was killed in the Bondi attack as he heroically confronted the terrorist gunmen by throwing bricks at them.
Speaking before Commissioner the Hon Virginia Bell AC SC, Gutnick shared how Bondi once represented her family’s happiest memories, with it being where her refugee parents first met.
Now, however, the iconic beachfront locale carried a “heavy weight” for the Australian Jewish community, she noted.
Gutnick recalled how antisemitism had been “allowed to come into the open” in the lead-up in the Bondi massacre, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7th attacks in Israel in 2023.
The testimony of Gutnick forms a central pillar of CAM’s comprehensive submission to the Royal Commission, drawn from a nationwide consultation program conducted across six Australian cities since January.
Gutnick stated following Monday’s hearing, “Today, I spoke not only as Reuven Morrison’s daughter, but on behalf of every Australian Jewish family that was told for too long to keep our heads down and hope it passes. It did not pass. It came to Bondi. The Royal Commission is Australia’s chance to make sure no other family has to endure what mine has.”
Watch the full recording of Monday’s hearing HERE (Gutnick’s testimony begins at around 1:01:00):
CAM CEO Sacha Roytman said, “Sheina Gutnick’s courage today is a moral wake-up call for every Australian leader. The Bondi massacre did not happen in a vacuum — it was preceded by years of escalating hate that institutions chose to manage rather than confront. The Royal Commission must be the moment Australia stops managing antisemitism and starts defeating it.”
The Royal Commission’s interim report, including 14 recommendations, was delivered last Thursday. Its final report is due on December 14, the first anniversary of the Bondi Beach massacre.
Just three weeks before the anniversary, CAM will co-host with the Waverley Council the Local Government Summit on Social Cohesion and Antisemitism in Bondi Beach.
The forum is expected to draw hundreds of mayors, councilors, senior council officers, interfaith activists, and community figures from every Australian state and territory, as well as federal and state government partners. This will mark the first time all three tiers of Australian government will formally convene for a summit on antisemitism.
Read more:
Daughter of Bondi Massacre Hero Joins CAM Australia to Fight the Hate That Killed Her Father
