Albanese: ‘I am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect your loved ones’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is now giving his speech.
My fellow Australians, tonight should have been nothing more than a regular Thursday night.
Our beautiful city, brightened by the light of another 15 lives. 15 lives illuminated by possibility, opportunity and dreams. Tragically, we are gathered here tonight because, on 14 December, everything changed.
And for that, I am sorry.
We cherish the promise that this country is a safe harbour. But sadly that promise was broken.
You came to celebrate a festival of light and freedom and you were met with the violence of hatred.
I am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect your loved ones from this evil.
The crowd erupted in applause after he apologised for the tragedy.
Key events
A video for Reuvan Morrison is now being shared, with members of his family sharing memories of him.
His daughter said:
We managed to do so much together in us 43 years together. It was not a boring life. We managed to live three lives together, not one life. His love was not something you just felt, it’s something you saw in every inch of him, in a smile, the way his eyes crinkled, the way his shoulders shook when he laughed. He loved his friends and family so loyally and so fiercely. That was something never taken for granted.
His wife said:
The number of people who called me and told me and came to see me, they said, thank you. Because of his courage, because of his loyalty, because of his care for his community that they are alive today. It gives me strength and that is and was my husband.
A video is now being played to give tribute to Peter Meagher, a photographer who was killed in the attack.
His wife said her first memory of Peter was their first date.
She said:
We went to a rugby match, because we both loved rugby. I remember thinking he was very protective, possibly because he was an active policeman at the time. There was a presence about him that was comforting. Gently comforting. Peter was quiet. He was gentle.
I wear his wedding ring around my neck. I wear it close to my heart. Because, he will always be there. My little piece of Peter for ever. Thank you for picking me. I’m grateful. And honoured. Thank you for being you.
When the song concluded, the crowd again gave him a standing ovation and began chanting his name.
American rabbi shot at Bondi performs at memorial hours after being discharged from hospital
Leibel Lazaroff has appeared to perform just hours after being discharged from hospital.
Lazaroff, a 20-year-old from Texas, was in Australia to study and volunteer at Chabad when he was shot at Bondi. He also helped save the life of police officer, Scott Dyson, who was injured in the attack.
Markson, while introducing Lazaroff, said:
He is also a talented pianist. In between surgeries he played in hospital. Before the attack, he was filmed playing a beautiful melody at Chabad of Bondi, together with Rabbi Ulman’s son-in-law. After the attack, Leibel was filmed again in hospital, playing the same melody with friends.
When Lazaroff ascended the stage, the crowd erupted into cheers and gave him a prolonged standing ovation. The loud cheers continued as he began to sing.
The crowd applauded after Sharri Markson returned to the stage and thanked the prime minister for his apology.
Markson said:
Prime minister, your acknowledgment just now that the community was let down is a crucial step, and your apology tonight was important to hear and it goes a long way.
We thank you for that, and you are right to say that our hearts were shattered that terrible evening and over the past two years.
Albanese has ended his speech by saying:
Australians are committed to driving antisemitism from our shores because it stands in opposition to all we are as a country. The nation we have built together, with care and compassion, over generations. A week after the massacre, when Rabbi Ulman spoke of the 15 souls we mourn tonight, he described the light that each had brought into the world. May their memories be a blessing and in their name, we will work to open all eyes to that light because that is the light that will win. Thank you.
Albanese said:
The Jewish community is at the very heart of the Australian story.
In every field of human endeavour, Jewish Australians helped build this nation, generation after generation, with energy, with creativity with generosity.
A vital thread that runs through the fabric of this nation and just as Jewish Australians have been a crucial part of our history to the even greater future in our reach.
You are not just accepted – you are valued. You are cherished. You have the right to pray, to learn and to live as proud Jews without looking over your shoulder.
Albanese said “you have taught a grieving nation that the only way to defeat darkness is to add the light.”
He said:
In the weeks since the world was upended, you have not retreated. You have not hidden away in fear. Instead you have shown profound strength. You inspired a movement that has swept right across the country.
As Rabbi Ulman and others reminded me in recent days – mitzvah doesn’t just mean a good deed. It also means a connection. In just two syllables, that one powerful Hebrew word tells us how good deeds can bind a society together. You showed us that resilience is so much more than survival. It is about defying hate, with unstoppable goodness.
You have taught a grieving nation that the only way to defeat darkness is to add the light.
‘Grief is love, wrapped around an absence’
Albanese said an attack on “Jewish Australians is an attack on all Australians”.
He continued:
Jewish Australians were targeted because they were Jewish. Let me say this clearly, and unequivocally, an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on all Australians.
It was an atrocity, perpetrated in the heart of this city, in a place that dwells in the very heart of our identity.
Tonight in this building, that has seen so many displays of carefully composed passion play out across its stages, we are joined in a grief that is all too real. A grief with no ending, only a beginning. Grief is love, wrapped around an absence.
Albanese: ‘I am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect your loved ones’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is now giving his speech.
My fellow Australians, tonight should have been nothing more than a regular Thursday night.
Our beautiful city, brightened by the light of another 15 lives. 15 lives illuminated by possibility, opportunity and dreams. Tragically, we are gathered here tonight because, on 14 December, everything changed.
And for that, I am sorry.
We cherish the promise that this country is a safe harbour. But sadly that promise was broken.
You came to celebrate a festival of light and freedom and you were met with the violence of hatred.
I am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect your loved ones from this evil.
The crowd erupted in applause after he apologised for the tragedy.
The fourth video is for Marika Pogany, with a tribute from her son.
Her son said:
I’d say the most common memory I have of my mum is protector, defender, whenever you fall, whenever you’re hungry, whenever you want a toy, she was there at the drop of a hat, that would be my mum.
The third video is dedicated to Dan Elkayam, with tributes from his friends.
One friend said:
I feel privileged to have known [Dan]. Privileged to spend his last day together.
When all this happenend, my wife and I talked and we just said ‘we have to live life to the fullest. That’s what we have to do. That’s what Dan did’.
A video has also been shown for Yaakov Levitan.
His wife, who appeared in the video along with their children, said:
The most important things I’ve learned from him is there is nothing you can’t do. Sit down, try it out. You don’t have to accept what you’ve been for so long, there’s always 100 new things you can learn. It’s pretty incredible what he was able to do. And hopefully we will do also.
