The daughter of a victim of the Bondi Beach attack has spoken out about a significant increase in antisemitism following the mass shooting, revealing that she has been subjected to hateful online comments suggesting she "should've been killed" as well.
First Witness at Royal Commission
Sheina Gutnick, whose father Reuven Morrison was killed during the attack, became the first witness to appear before Australia's royal commission examining antisemitism in the country. The commission began its public hearings on Monday into the mass shooting that occurred on 14 December last year.
Morrison, 62, was shot and killed after hurling a brick at one of the gunmen during the attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach, which took place during a Hanukkah celebration. Father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram are accused of carrying out the massacre using legally owned firearms, in a nation with strict gun controls. Sajid was fatally shot by police at the scene, while Naveed, 24, was arrested and charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist attack.
Impact on Jewish Community
Ms Gutnick expressed caution about attending family events in public places or traveling to certain parts of Sydney since the tragedy. She told the hearing that she had witnessed attempts to "excuse and justify the events as only anti-Zionist." The commission has received more than 5,700 submissions from the public, with all witnesses called to give evidence being Jewish Australians who recounted their experiences of hatred, some speaking under pseudonyms due to safety concerns.
Ms Gutnick described an incident a year earlier when she was verbally abused while carrying her baby in a Sydney shopping mall by a man who noticed her Star of David necklace. "I felt shocked, exposed and unsafe," she said, noting that despite many people being around, no one intervened.
Shift Since October 2023
She highlighted a dramatic shift in antisemitism since October 2023, following Israel's war on Gaza. "I felt as though antisemitism was allowed to come into the open," she stated. "All of a sudden it was socially, morally acceptable for antisemitic comments to be made in public discourse." Ms Gutnick urged greater awareness of antisemitism, Jewish identity, and the real-world consequences of hate.
Holocaust Survivor's Testimony
Holocaust survivor Peter Halasz OAM also testified, saying he had been afraid to wear his Star of David in public since Jews "have become targets" in Australia. He recounted that his mother was caught and shot by Nazis in 1944, and he survived only due to the "extraordinary courage" of those around him. "I lived through what hatred can do to people … what is happening in Australia today is not a faint echo of a distant past [but] something recognised … and cause for alarm," he told the commission.
Commission's Findings
Virginia Bell, a retired judge appointed to lead the royal commission inquiry, stated that the first block of public hearings would investigate the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in Australia. "The sharp spike in antisemitism that we've witnessed in Australia has been mirrored in other Western countries and seems clearly linked to events in the Middle East," Ms Bell said. She emphasized the importance of understanding how quickly such events can prompt hostility towards Jewish Australians.
The inquiry released an interim report last Thursday, advising increased security around Jewish public events and further counter-terrorism and gun reforms among 14 initial recommendations. A second block of hearings later this month will focus on the circumstances leading up to the Bondi Beach attack and issues raised in the interim report. The commission is due to deliver its final report on 14 December, exactly one year after the attack.
