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Doing that is hard. We do need to strengthen our laws, strengthen our security. But that is not enough. We must forensically examine how Sunday happened, and what if anything could have been done to avoid it. The government should respond to the antisemitism envoy’s recommendations, but laws and policing can take us only so far.
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What really protects us all and protects the Australian culture we treasure is our commitment to take each individual for who they are and what they do. That commitment saved lives on Sunday when Ahmed al Ahmed rushed forward to disarm one of the killers targeting the innocent men, women and children who had gathered to celebrate the joyous festival of Hanukkah.
Ahmed is a recent refugee, a shop owner who came to our country from Syria. A Muslim man who risked his life to disarm a killer and save Jewish Australians. Ahmed was wounded showing the decency and courage we celebrate in Australians from all faiths who will not stand for hate. The Jewish Australians I met today at Bondi Pavilion described him as a hero.
Building and strengthening our culture demands leadership at all levels, and a commitment at all levels of our country, from every single one of us, that this cohesion is something we need to actively fight for.
I come back to what I said at the start – the foundations of modern Australia are built on the safety and acceptance of all – regardless of faith, ethnicity, sexuality or any other characteristic. We judge people based on who they are as people, rather than what group they represent.
The instinct is often to pull people apart, to dehumanise and to look at each other with fear. The much harder thing is to see the humanity in each of us.
But every single one of us must ask ourselves – are we in our actions, in what we say, making our country safer for each other, or less safe? We all have a responsibility here. Security is more than laws and policing. It comes from a society that cannot be divided by those who wish it ill. We have to be that society. We need to confront the things that we disagree on; we cannot shy away from those conversations.
I will always wonder if I could have done more to prevent Sunday – in whatever actions and words I have taken or not taken. We each need to ask each other. This is not for the Jewish community to solve alone. We must all turn up.
Allegra Spender is the member for the federal seat of Wentworth, which covers Bondi.
- Moment by moment: How the horrifying attack unfolded
- Blood donations, floral tributes: Sydney has rallied in the wake of the Bondi attack
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