Australia’s Jewish community shocked by Jerusalem attack

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The Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the ADC have condemned the attack in Jerusalem which claimed the lives of four soldiers.

Anton Block

Anton Block, President, and Peter Wertheim, Executive Director of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said: “We are shocked and appalled by the terrorist attack in Jerusalem on Sunday, during which a Palestinian terrorist rammed a truck into a group of soldiers at a popular promenade in the city’s south. It has been reported that the driver accelerated as he struck the group, then reversed to run over the victims a second time.

Four young Israelis are dead and sixteen others are injured. The dead are Erez Orbach, 20, Shir Hajaj, 22, Shira Zur, 20 and Yael Yekutiel, 20.

Peter Wertheim

The Australian Jewish community shares the sorrow, grief and anger caused by this barbaric crime and we pray for the souls of the murdered and for their families to be granted strength at this terrible time.

We thank the Australian Ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma for his immediate, unequivocal and heartfelt condemnation of the terrorist attack and for his support for the people of Israel.

We are also appalled by the events that immediately followed this attack. As has become routine, Hamas praised the attack as “heroic”, the Fatah movement of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas labeled the terrorist a “martyr”, while in Gaza, sweets were handed out to celebrate the atrocity. These acts of glorification of terror and incitement to further violence must stop.

We wish long life to the families of the victims. May the memories of their loved ones be a blessing. We pray that peace can swiftly and permanently return to the holy city of Jerusalem.

Dr Dvir Abramovich

Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, said: “Today is a black day of grief and mourning for Israel and the Jewish people. Through tears and broken hearts, we extend our profound condolences  to the families of the victims and pray for the speedy and full recovery of the wounded.

The heinous violence directed against Israelis as they go about their daily lives is not ending and we are horrified and outraged over this murderous and reprehensible attack, part of a bloody onslaught  of terror that has claimed the lives of many innocents. These unspeakable crimes represent a brutal campaign of murder motivated by sheer hatred of Jews, and is a result of incitement by Palestinian media and President Abbas who has been fanning the flames of extremism.

This is the real obstacle to peace, not the settlements. The ADC stands in solidarity with the government of Israel as it takes all necessary measures to protect its citizens. We urge the Australian government and nations worldwide to demand that President Abbas immediately denounce this despicable act of violence and cease from further inciting against Israel.”

Dr. Danny Lamm, President of the Zionist Federation of Australia today strongly condemned the terrorist ramming attack that occurred yesterday in Jerusalem, killing four innocent Israelis and injuring at least fifteen more.

Dr. Lamm said, “the attack, which is sadly not an isolated incident, is the same terror that we have seen in France and in Germany. We urge the international community to view this incident for what it is – relentless terrorism against an entire population. We condemn the terrorist, who callously accelerated towards the group of mainly young soldiers, and then reversed over injured bodies to maximise his impact. We also condemn the Palestinian leadership for their incitement to violence and for their refusal to seek a more peaceful future, and we hold them personally responsible for this heinous attack.”

Referring to the most recent UN Security Council Resolution 2334 Dr Lamm said, “I certainly hope that the one-sided resolution has not convinced the Palestinians that they no longer have any obligations or responsibility to work towards bringing peace to the region.”

Dr. Lamm continued, “we also send our deepest condolences to the families of Yael Yekutiel, Shir Hajaj, Shira Tzur and Erez Orbach, who sadly join the long list of bereaved families in Israel touched by terror.”