‘We are all human beings first’: Jews and Muslims embrace at vigils for those killed in Bondi beach terror attack

About 24 hours after terror was unleashed on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins stood in the city’s Hyde Park and delivered a message of unity.“So many in our Jewish community have received messages of love from leaders in different faith communities, from Palestinian friends and friends around this country, and in so doing, we are now learning we are all just flesh and blood, and we are all also the light,” he said.The vigil, on Monday evening, was to commemorate the 15 killed and dozens injured and traumatised in Sunday’s antisemitic terror attack on Bondi Beach.After Kamins’s speech, Bilal Rauf, special adviser at the Australian National Imams Council, offered “deep heartbreak and condolences”, noting the pain reminded him of his own community after the 2019 Christchurch massacre.Afterwards, the pair embraced in a hug as the crowd broke into applause.Kamins, from the Emmanuel Synagogue in Woollahra, said the essence of the vigil was recognising “we are all human beings first”.“After he spoke about understanding the pain in the Jewish community and universality at the same time of experience, it was just spontaneous,” he said.“Hugs say a lot.”Kamins said since Sunday there had been an outpouring of spontaneous acts of kindness – flowers being placed in front of his synagogue and letters from faith leaders and neighbours.“The message is, you are not alone,” he said. “I’m hoping that over the weeks and months ahead, as there is, you know, the ability to heal or process the trauma and then heal from it, that we will be able to respond to those open hands and open hearts and know that we can create a better Australia.”Vigils have been held across Sydney and Melbourne, with some bringing together people of different faiths and secular backgrounds.Sydney Friends of Standing Together hosted a memorial event on Monday evening. The group supports the grassroots movement Standing Together, which unites Palestinian and Jewish people in Israel in their push for peace, equality and justice.Originally planned as a Hanukah and Christmas celebration, the organisers hosted a memorial to pay tribute to the victims of the Bondi massacre. About 50 people gathered to hear the Kaddish – a Jewish prayer recited for the dead – alongside Muslim and Christian prayers and secular messages.Jews and Muslims light Hanukah candles together at a Sydney Friends of Standing Together event on Monday night. Photograph: Siba Al-HaimusAnn Porcino, who grew up Catholic in the United States with Jewish heritage, said the combination of the multi-faith blessings was “us reaching for each other”.“There we are in the midst of this horror that’s been perpetrated on the Jewish community in the most horrific way. And all I could think was, we need to be together on this,” she said.Dr Munther Emad, a Palestinian Australian living in Sydney, spoke at the memorial event.“I felt that it’s a duty of me … saying that I just want to let you know that you’re not alone in your sense of despair and grief. I share it with you and my family,” he said.“We wouldn’t be beating darkness with more darkness. The only way to actually really defeat darkness is by have a sense of unity.”Fahimah Badrulhisham, co-president of non-profit Muslim Collective, who attended the event, said the group shared a determination for the Bondi attack to not lead to escalating violence.“It’s an open space where people are willing to see the humanity and the realness of everybody else who is gathered there,” she said.