On Sunday at 3am I woke up, needing to use the bathroom. I took my phone with me. Partly to play this word game my younger daughter got me hooked on, and partly to check my news feed - a habit I've had since October 7, 2023. As is happening all too frequently nowadays, I saw there was another terrorist attack on the Jewish people. A father and son duo decided it would be a good idea to kill as many Jews as possible on Bondi Beach, just outside Sydney in Australia. Jews who were celebrating the first night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
It's a small world for Jews. My Rabbi's wife is from Sydney, and still has family there. In checking in with the Rabbi that morning, he let me know that his wife's Aunt and Uncle were at the beach celebrating Hanukkah, but were able to hide behind a van in order to protect themselves from the shooters. As the day progressed, I read that 15 people were murdered and another 40 were injured.
Many of us have seen the video of the hero of the day, Ahmed al Ahmed, who snuck up on one of the shooters from behind and was able to disarm him from the rifle he was using. Mr. Ahmed was not armed himself. But he knew right from wrong, and was determined to do the right thing. I wish him a speedy and complete recovery. A Jewish billionaire, Bill Ackman, wanted to help Mr. Ahmed, and quickly donated $100,000 to a GoFundMe account. For which he was instantly criticized with comments such as: "That's pocket change for him. Should have been much more." And maybe he will donate more. Maybe his donation will move others to donate. But some people will never be satisfied.
The victims of this terrorist attack ranged in age from 10 to 87. The victims included a Holocaust survivor and one of the Chabad Rabbis. One thousand people were said to have attended what should have been a joyous celebration of Hanukkah.
Writing an Op-Ed in the New York Post, Miranda Devine observed: "In the two years since the Hamas attack on Israel, synagogues in Sydney have been firebombed, Kosher restaurants vandalized, cars outside Jewish homes torched, and rancid antisemitic graffiti has become ubiquitous along the Bondi promenade: 'Kill Jews' is the mantra. Every weekend for at least two years downtown Sydney is shut down by Palestinian protests." At one of these protests, maybe more, was "the Sydney Mayor, the former state Premier, labor members of Parliament and assorted local celebrities." The labor party is like the Democrat Party here. And celebrities, I guess, are the same everywhere - mostly leftists.
Let's not forget that the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, joined other foolish Western leaders in giving recognition to a non-existent Palestinian state at the UNGA in September. In 2024, the Australian Foreign Minister made his way to Gaza, but couldn't manage to make his way to Israel to see what happened there on October 7.
A spokesperson for the Australia-Israel Jewish Affairs Council said it best. After explaining that they warned the government that something like this was going to happen, here is what that spokesperson said: "It started with hate speech. Then graffiti. Then public demonstrations. Then firebombing synagogues, preschools, people's homes, people's cars. And now murder."
This is yet another example of what "globalize the intifada" looks like.
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