Terror at Bondi Beach: Antisemitic Attack Shakes Australia’s Iconic Shore

It was a beautiful summer evening at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach. Thousands of people soaked up the lingering warmth, took sunset dips in the sparkling sea, or gathered at a nearby Hanukkah celebration that attracted families of all faiths with face painting, ice cream, an outdoor movie and a petting zoo.

Then mayhem erupted.

For minute after minute, shots rang out as people ran screaming, pulling each other into buildings, under tables and down alleyways. Beach towels, picnic blankets and flip flops were strewn behind them as they fled.

The violence horrified Australians not only because of its scale but also because it unfolded at a cultural and environmental landmark that has long represented the country’s cheeky, friendly and relaxed way of life. The antisemitic extremism behind the attack has sent shockwaves through a nation unaccustomed to such violence.

Bondi is Australia’s most famous beach, known globally as the backdrop of the long-running reality television series “Bondi Rescue” about local lifeguards. It’s a magnet for foreign backpackers who flock to celebrate Christmas on the sand and is famous for its election day traditions where some Australians visit polling places clad only in tight-fitting swim briefs known as Budgy Smugglers, with news photographers capturing these irreverent moments.

Sunday night began in that spirit, with children enjoying rides and bubble blowing at the event, called Chanukah by the Sea. Then two men, a father and son, began indiscriminately gunning down men, women and children. Those killed ranged in age from 10 to 87. The Australian newspaper reported that one victim was a Holocaust survivor.

Rebecca, 33, who declined to give her surname fearing reprisals, was with her husband and two children when gunshots erupted. In tears the morning after the attack, she described shielding her 5-year-old son with her body under a table.

“I was just praying to God, ‘Please, don’t let us die. Please just keep my son safe,'” she told The Associated Press.

A man lying inches from her was shot in the chest. Rebecca’s 65-year-old mother-in-law used a piece of cardboard to apply pressure to his wound, but the man died. “One lady was to my side, and she was an elderly woman who couldn’t get down on the floor and they just shot her,” Rebecca said.

The shots continued relentlessly. In footage supplied to AP by a member of the public who filmed from a nearby hotel room, gunfire can be heard for at least seven minutes, totaling dozens of blasts.

The violence provoked particular terror at the beach because most Australians don’t come into close contact with guns. One beachgoer, Eleanor, who declined to give her surname, told AP that she was walking at Bondi when the shots began and ran, fully clothed, into the ocean. On Monday, she plucked her sunglasses from a pile of abandoned belongings that lined the beach.

Bondi is an affluent suburb close to downtown Sydney and part of the Waverley local government area, which is the center of Sydney’s Jewish life. A knife attack last year at the nearby Bondi Junction shopping mall was initially feared to be antisemitic, but authorities later ruled out any political motive.

Mass shootings in Australia are rare. The death toll from Sunday’s massacre is the highest since a mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996, which led to sweeping gun reform that made it virtually impossible for Australians to obtain rapid-fire rifles.

Authorities said Monday they had recovered six guns that were legally owned by one of the shooters, a 50-year-old man who was shot dead by police. His 24-year-old son was being treated at a hospital on Monday.

Though officials haven’t named the attackers, Australia’s leaders were clear about the motive: a targeted attack on Australian Jews during joyful celebrations marking the beginning of Hanukkah.

“It’s the Jewish community. We’re all family, we’re all one,” said Rebecca, who lives at Bondi with her family. “We’re such a strong, loving community.” She felt abandoned by the authorities, who she said had “turned a blind eye” to rising antisemitism in Australia.

In the aftermath, Australians hailed those who bravely ran toward danger to help. They included a fruit seller identified by local news outlets as Ahmed al Ahmed, who appeared to tackle and disarm one of the gunmen before pointing the man’s weapon at him and then setting it on the ground.

The famous Bondi Beach surf lifeguards, normally trained to save struggling swimmers, ran barefoot toward the gunfire carrying first aid kits as they sought to help victims.

On Monday morning, when the beach would usually be teeming with joggers, swimmers and people promenading with takeaway coffees, an eerie quiet prevailed under gray skies. Ashen-faced locals walked around in a daze, led by their dogs. Abandoned blankets, chairs and coolers were strewn across the grassy slope overlooking the sea, where moviegoers had been watching an outdoor film when the gunshots began.

“It’s really sad because Bondi is really as much about community and about people getting together,” said Heather Norland, who was walking back from dinner with her husband and children when they heard the gunshots.

Janine Hall and her daughter laid flowers at a growing tribute spot overlooking the beach before heading down to the sand to swim. “I hope it’s an aberration and not the start of a change,” she told AP, referring to countries where mass shootings are common. “Everyone keep their heads and don’t fight hatred with more hatred, because that’s just a one-way ticket to nowhere, for everybody.”

Robert, who declined to give his last name and has lived in Bondi for 17 years, summed up the shock felt across the nation: “Australia is untouched by a lot of things. No one was expecting this.”