Daughter of Bondi terror victim to give first public evidence at royal commission

Harrowing examples of hatred against Jews will be shared in the first public hearings of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, with counsel assisting Zelie Heger SC using her opening address to detail some of the worst examples, including one involving children on a school bus.

“Overt abuse is not just by adults towards adults. The perpetrators of abuse have been both adults and children and, in one terrible incident, one small student told a Jewish student that Hitler should have gassed them all,” Heger told the commission.

Heger told the commission that the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, marked a “significant turning point for antisemitism in Australia”.

Also assisting the commission is Richard Lancaster SC, who outlined plans for future hearing blocks, including an investigation of the circumstances that led to the Bondi Beach terror attack, as well as “a particular focus on antisemitism on social media” and the role it may play in radicalisation.

Universities and other public institutions will also feature in future public hearings.

The commission will use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which states: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews”.

Sheina Gutnick, the daughter of Bondi Beach terror attack victim Reuven Morrison, is the first witness before the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion when public hearings begin on Monday.

Former High Court judge Virginia Bell will preside over the first block of public hearings in Sydney, with the focus to be on the definition of antisemitism, and the lived experiences of Jewish Australians.

Gutnick, whose father was killed as he tried to protect others during the Bondi attack on December 14, was a signatory to an open letter from victims’ families demanding answers and accountability from the government, alongside a Commonwealth royal commission.

Other witnesses expected to appear on Monday include Rabbi Benjamin Elton from The Great Synagogue, and Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin, whose former Dover Heights home was firebombed during Sydney’s so-called summer of hate.

The first block of hearings, which commence at 10am, will continue until Friday, May 15.

Bell last week handed down her interim report, which focused on NSW Police and security agencies and possible failures that may have led to the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, in which 15 people, most of them Jewish, were killed on the first night of Hanukkah last year.

As of April 30, the royal commission said it had received more than 7500 submissions, most from NSW, followed by Victoria.

More than 4000 respondents identified as Jewish; more than 1000 did not identify as Jewish; and the remaining respondents preferred not to say, according to the latest update from the commission.

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