Bondi Beach Chanukah attack sends shockwaves through global Jewish community

When the gunfire began at the Chanukah community event on Bondi Beach earlier today, 14 December, South African emigrant to Australia Wayne Miller’s instinct was immediate. 

He dived on top of his five-year-old daughter, pulling her beneath a trestle table with balloons on it as bullets flew through the crowd at the celebration of close on 1 000 Jewish people on Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Around his family, people screamed and scattered. At first, some had thought the sharp cracks were fireworks. Within seconds, it was clear they were under attack. 

Wayne, his wife Vanessa, and their two young children were among the throngs gathered on Sunday evening for Chanukah By the Sea, which included a public menorah lighting, entertainment, music games, and fun organised by Chabad of Bondi. The family had become separated in the chaos, with Wayne shielding his five-year-old daughter, Capri, while Vanessa was elsewhere in the crowd with their three-year-old child, Gigi. 

“Bullets were flying all around,” said Wayne’s sister, Nicola Shapiro. “He dived on top of the five-year-old to protect her.” As the shooting continued, panic set in. Wayne and Vanessa each believed the other had their younger child. When they realised neither of them knew where Gigi was, fear turned to terror. 

“They completely freaked out,” Shapiro said. When the gunfire stopped, Wayne began searching desperately through the area where people lay injured and dead. “He went looking for his child near the bodies of the dead and injured,” Shapiro said. Gigi, meanwhile, was protected by a stranger who threw herself over the little girl as shots rang out. The woman was hit by gunfire but survived. “They were all covered in blood,” Shapiro said. 

This heinous attack left 12 people dead and at least 27 seriously injured, in what Australian authorities have described as the deadliest mass shooting in the country in nearly four decades. One of those killed was a Chabad rabbi, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who had been involved in organising the event. 

South African-born Dr Vic Alhadeff, who is the former chief executive of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies told the SA Jewish Report, “The Australian Jewish community is extraordinarily distressed and shaken following this terrorist attack. This is a night of tragedy and devastation for us.” 

He said that he has since heard that an improvised explosive device was found in the Bondi Beach area by police today. “Fortunately, it had not detonated,” he said. “These are very tough times for our community and we cannot stand alone.” He felt sure that the Australian Prime Minister and the premier of their province would use the full might of the law to fight this. This was another in a string of 1 654 antisemitic incidents in Australia in the past 12 months, he said. 

The shooting has sent shockwaves through Jewish communities globally, with South Africans among those directly affected.Another South African living in Los Angeles and visiting Sydney at the time, Avron Anstey, was in a restaurant near the beachfront with his family when the shooting began. 

“We were at a restaurant on Bondi, right where the shooting took place,” Anstey said. “We had just finished dinner and were walking out. I stepped out first and saw shots being fired, so I jumped back inside and tried to shut the door.” 

Inside the restaurant, people reacted instinctively. As gunfire continued, staff ushered patrons through the restaurant into an enclosed garage at the back of the building. Security then directed them into a supermarket attached to the garage, where they were placed in lockdown for about an hour. 

According to Australian police and emergency services, gunmen opened fire from an elevated position near the beachfront promenade shortly after nightfall. Witnesses reported sustained gunfire lasting several minutes, with police later confirming that between 50 and 60 bullets were fired into the crowd. 

One suspect was shot dead by police at the scene, a second was wounded and taken into custody, and authorities said they were investigating whether a third accomplice may have been involved. Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the primary suspect had been identified as Naveed Akram, though investigations into motive and possible extremist links were continuing. The attack took place exactly 800 days after the 7 October 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel, a fact noted by Jewish leaders as communities worldwide continue to grapple with rising antisemitism. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns both condemned the attack, describing it as an assault on innocent civilians, and met with Jewish leaders in the hours that followed. While welcoming those statements, Alhadeff said Jewish leaders had been warning for months that antisemitism was escalating. “We have been saying that antisemitism is getting out of control,” he said. “Today, we saw the consequences of that hatred.” 

Others at the event described initial confusion before realising what was happening. South African Craig Nudelman said the first sounds did not register as gunfire. “At first, I thought the shots were fireworks,” he said. “Then I saw people running.” Nudelman abandoned his car and ran to a nearby police station before making his way home. “I am feeling very shaken,” he said. 

Hospitals across Sydney were placed on emergency footing as ambulances rushed victims from the scene. Australian authorities confirmed that many of the 27 injured had gunshot wounds and required urgent medical care and intensive treatment. 

The international reaction was swift. Jewish organisations across Europe, North America, Israel, and South Africa issued statements condemning the attack and expressing solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community. 

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli officials were in contact with Australian authorities and Jewish communal leaders, while the New York Times reported that United States law enforcement agencies were monitoring developments amid concerns about further threats to Jewish institutions. 

Australian security agencies confirmed that the country’s domestic intelligence service had previously been monitoring at least one of the suspects, though officials stressed that investigations into potential failures or missed warning signs were still at an early stage. 

For many Jewish communities, the fact that the attack occurred during Chanukah has been particularly confronting. Chanukah commemorates the struggle for religious freedom and the rededication of Jewish worship. That a public celebration of the festival could become the scene of a mass shooting has intensified fears about the safety of openly Jewish gatherings. As investigations continue and Australia mourns the dead, Jewish leaders have urged communities to remain vigilant while continuing to live Jewish lives publicly.