Jewish community defiant as October 7 remembered

Australia’s Jewish community say they remain defiant and united as thousands gathered 12 months on from the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

Australia’s Jewish community have gathered in their thousands across the country as political leaders joined to mark one year since the October 7 attacks.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Victoria’s current and former premiers Jacinta Allan and Daniel Andrews were among more than 6000 who attended a vigil in Melbourne’s southeast on Monday night.

Family and friends of some of the 1200 people killed by terrorist group Hamas 12 months ago led attendees in a lantern-lit walk before the three-hour-long commemoration began inside the Morris Moor precinct of Moorabbin.

Dozens fashioned Israel flags and T-shirts that paid tribute to hostages taken from Nova music festival as speeches and songs punctuated the service.

At a twilight vigil at the Israeli embassy in Canberra, the nation’s ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon said the events of October 7 would be forever etched into his people’s souls.

“Remembering the horror, reliving the anguish and imagining the terror is painful, yet today we must confront those memories,” he told a 100-strong crowd including Australian government ministers and dignitaries.

“This was not just a terrorist attack. It was an attempt to erase us. Over 1200 innocent souls were ripped from our world that day.

“We did not start this war, but we are determined to win this war, not just for our own sake, but for the sake of the free world.

“This isn’t just another conflict. This is a battle between good and evil, between life and the forces of destruction.”

Zionism Victoria president Yossi Goldfarb detailed the community’s feeling of abandonment over the past year and criticised the government’s response with comments that drew applause from the crowd.

“We have seen darkness in Australia,” he said.

“There is a permissiveness that has let anti-Semitism fester.

“A permissiveness encouraged by weak and ambiguous expositions of our foreign policy that in our community’s view have weakened our social cohesion, leaving us to feel that the State of Israel has been abandoned as a natural ally of the Australian people.”

Community leader Moran Dvir said the past year has been marred by grief for much of Australia’s Jewish population.

“Life has changed forever for us … we’re experiencing things that we never thought we would see in our lifetime,” she told AAP.

Federal teal MPs Zoe Daniel and Monique Ryan took part in the Melbourne march along with Jewish state and federal MPs Josh Burns and David Southwick.

“It’s important people have a chance to gather,” Ms Daniels told AAP.

Victorian Opposition leader John Pesutto and Deputy Premier Ben Carroll were also in attendance.

Jewish man Frank Selch says it’s important to remember the victims of October 7 and denounce anti-Semitism, saying decent people need to take a stand against atrocities.

“It’s important for all of us to come out and take a stand today … it’s something that no decent human being should ever condone, give any kind of excuse for,” he told AAP at a rally outside Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.

Designated terror group Hamas killed about 1200 people and took a further 250 hostage on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli authorities.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott said the Jewish people deserved a state of their own to be safe in after suffering a long history of persecution.

Mr Abbott said the community grieved and remembered those killed in the attacks and the hostages who remained captive, before praising Israel’s response.

“October 7, the worst catastrophe to befall Jewish people since the Holocaust, a day of infamy where the killers did not just kill, but they exalted in their killing,” he told the rally.

“”Even the Nazis tried to hide what they did, but these murderers revelled and exalted and posted on social media,” he said.

Chaos has ensued since in the Middle East, where a sustained Israeli counter-attack has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to its local health ministry.

In a recorded message, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mourned the loss of innocent life while denouncing a reported increase in anti-Semitism since the attack.

“Jewish Australians have felt the cold shadows of anti-Semitism reaching into the present day and as a nation we say, never again,” he said.

Pro-Palestinian vigils and rallies drew condemnation from Jewish groups, which argue it’s insensitive but organisers and attendees say they’re also marking the loss of innocent life following Israel’s year-long war in Gaza.

The Queensland community commemorated the 7th October with in excess of 400 attendees at the Queensland Jewish Communal Centre with the Ilan Wittenberg Aftermath exhibition being a significant part of the evening.

Lanterns in the shape of the yellow ribbon were lit and there were a number of beautifully crafted speeches, memories shared. We thank Senator Paul Scarr for attending and lighting a lantern.

The commemoration was co-hosted by the State Zionist Council of Queensland and the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies. The Aftermath exhibition was generously supported by the Zionist Federation of Australia and our close friends at Christians for Israel Foundation.

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By: Holly Hales, Jacob Shteyman, Alex Mitchell and Dominic Giannini with J-Wire