JEWISH COMMUNITY OF NEPA STATEMENT
Re: Bondi Beach, Sidney, shooting
CONTACT PERSON:
Daniel Chejfec, PhD – Executive Director, Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania
(570) 961-2300 ; Cell: (845) 337-6616
The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, on behalf of the local Jewish community shares our outrage and our anger at the shooting perpetrated on Bondi Beach, in Sidney (Australia) against a Jewish crowd gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. This joyous Jewish holiday marks, ironically, the victory of the Maccabean Revolt over 2000 years ago against the Greek to secure religious freedom and restore the Jewish state and the Holy Temple. We stand with the families of the victims and pray for the recovery of the wounded. We also praise the courageous bystander who put his life in the line to stop one of the attackers. We also note with concern and sadness the attack against a private home in Redlands, CA and the attack on the Brown University campus.
We believe these latest attacks do not come in a vacuum, but they are part of a global mainstreaming of antisemitic and political hate which has flourished in college campuses, city council meetings, professional associations including Health and education professionals, and of course, the internet – which has become a cesspool of misinformation and hate.
The attack in Australia, perpetrated against a religious gathering marking a religious holiday, puts to lie the pretense that it is politically motivated violence. To the contrary, it seems that the pretense of political motivation is rooted in irrational hate. The attack in Australia was a clear expression of religious hate and left behind at least 11 dead and dozens injured. As the writing of this statement, one victim has been identified as a Rabbi and another as a 12-year old girl.
We welcome the statement by the Australian National Imams Council condemning the attack and expressing solidarity with the families of the victims. We also urge law enforcement agencies in Australia as well as the US to identify, apprehend and bring to justice the perpetrators.
Violence is replacing civil discourse in our society and across the western world. This attack is but the latest expression of this problem. We call upon all civic associations, ethnic and religious groups, as well as political groups to take note of where we are headed and to pull back from the brink in the spirit of the founding values of our country; “E Pluribus Unum”, “One from many”. It is written on our currency – let us also inscribe it in our hearts.