‘I failed as a parent’: Lesli’s children didn’t feel safe in their own home during Bondi attack

A Jewish community leader felt like he had failed as a parent on the day of the Bondi massacre because his children were home alone and scared their house would be targeted, the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has been told.

Former president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies Lesli Berger fought back tears as he told the commission his children were frightened they could be harmed in their own home.

“They didn’t feel like they were safe in our home,” Berger said. “I felt like I failed as a parent.

“[They] were concerned other members of the Jewish community could be targeted.”

This followed an incident in December 2024 when the back fence of his Sydney home was graffitied with a swastika and accompanying text in German.

“Even when I look at this picture I can’t believe this happened to my home,” Berger said as he examined a picture of the attack.

“It is a symbol of hatred, a political movement that wanted the extermination of Jewish people,” he said, adding that following the personal attack, he had shut down his social media, beefed up security around his home and sought to remove any means to identify his house.

“Because of what happened to our family home, [the Bondi attack] has definitely left us more vulnerable,” Berger said. “We have felt it more keenly ... there has been a profound psychological effect on the entire community.

“It’s made it far more challenging to be openly Jewish in Australia than it was a few years ago.”

Witnesses were giving evidence on what is considered to be the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av, which is marked by a day of communal fasting.

Rabbi Allison Conyer from the Union for Progressive Judaism told the commission a “loss of Jewish pride” was one of the biggest challenges faced by her community.

“When they walk outside ... they are hearing ‘Jews are bad, they are baby killers, you can’t trust them’,” she said. “They are scared … they are defensive Jews, rather than [having] pride. They don’t feel safe, that’s an unintentional cost.”

She recounted an incident where a member of her community was confronted on the street and asked, “are you Jewish, do you know where the Jews are, we are hunting Jews”.

Conyer, who was the first female rabbi in NSW, told of the loss of lifelong friendships and said, “[People] are being cancelled by their friends just because they are Jewish.”

The Victorian and NSW governments also told the commission there needed to be increased co-ordination with their federal counterpart to allow quicker and more efficient delivery of funding for Jewish community safety, the antisemitism royal commission heard on Thursday.

Secretary of the NSW Premier’s Department Simon Draper told Commissioner Virginia Bell the Minns government had provided $2.5 million in discretionary funding to boost Jewish community security since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel.

He said the Minns government had recognised a significant increase in antisemitism in late 2024, including attacks on homes, schools and places of worship, all of which had led to state government funding for enhanced security.

Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jeremi Moule told the commission state government funding had historically been provided primarily for enduring infrastructure, but was now also being provided for operational security.

Moule said $3.74 million in grant funding had been provided for Jewish community security by the Victorian government since the 2023-24 financial year.

He said that in the two months immediately following the December Bondi terror attack, the Allan government had provided specific funding for beefed-up security at Jewish events, youth camps and special gatherings.

He said there had been increased co-operation between the Victorian and Commonwealth governments on grant allocations and foreshadowed further talks towards “a more formal arrangement”.

“It is a constantly maturing model … that needs to be sensitive to needs of the day,” he said.

The inquiry, which followed the December 14, 2025 Bondi terror attack, is tasked with investigating the prevalence of antisemitism and examining the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) chief executive Peter Wertheim also told the commission the federal government’s $124 million, three-year funding package to the Jewish community to bolster security was significant, but less than what was required.

The funds, flowing from 2025-26 are managed and distributed by the ECAJ to co-ordinate communal security needs, combat hate, and protect Jewish institutions. The funding was first announced in December 2025, following the Sydney massacre.

“At a high level, it has provided amounts we requested, but that is based on what has occurred,” Wertheim said. “We are always playing catch-up, costs increase and needs increase.

“The amounts are significant and generous and appreciated, but they are always less than what it turns out is required.”

Hearings resume in Melbourne on Friday.

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