Holocaust survivor and Bondi victim Alex Kleytman remembered at Sydney funeral
Mourners have gathered for the funeral for holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, who was killed in Sunday’s attack.
Speaking to reporters after the terror attack on Sunday, his wife, Larisa Kleytman, said Hanukah had always been a “very, very good celebration” for the couple, having celebrated the tradition every year since immigrating to Australia.
Photograph: Dean Lewis/EPA
You can read more about Kleytman here:
Key events
The flags are back up at Bondi beach for the first time since Sunday
Nick Visser
Lifeguards put up a pair of red and yellow flags just in front of the Bondi lifeguard station, and a small group of people have taken to the sand and the waves today.
Tom McIlroy
UK and Australia to work ‘more closely’ together to combat antisemitism, Penny Wong says
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has spoken with the UK foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, overnight. Wong has been holding calls with counterparts around the world in the wake of Sunday’s Bondi beach shootings.
Cooper expressed deep sympathy to the Jewish community and all Australians, offering the unwavering support of the UK government.
The pair spoke of the global rise in antisemitism and discussed ways to fight ideologically motivated hatred and violence, including online radicalisation.
Wong:
I thanked UK foreign secretary Cooper for her expressions of sympathy and solidarity with Jewish Australians and with all Australians.
We agreed to work more closely together to confront antisemitism, terror and hatred and ensure our communities are protected.
Holocaust survivor and Bondi victim Alex Kleytman remembered at Sydney funeral
Mourners have gathered for the funeral for holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, who was killed in Sunday’s attack.
Speaking to reporters after the terror attack on Sunday, his wife, Larisa Kleytman, said Hanukah had always been a “very, very good celebration” for the couple, having celebrated the tradition every year since immigrating to Australia.
Photograph: Dean Lewis/EPA
You can read more about Kleytman here:
Caitlin Cassidy
Daughter of Holocaust survivor and Bondi attack victim Alex Kleytman established fundraiser for his widow
The daughter of a Holocaust survivor who was killed in Sunday’s terror attack at Bondi beach has established a fundraiser to rebuild the life of her mother.
Sabina Kleitman wrote on GoFundMe that her father, 87-year-old Alex Kleytman, was a “fascinating, cheerful and kind person of many talents with an unwavering spirit”.
He died shielding my mum, Larisa. My Dad was killed simply for being Jewish at the Hanukkah family event. My Mum, Larisa Kleitman, is left without the love of her life, her hero, her protector, and on a single small pension.
My Mum will deal with the trauma and the loss of her husband for a very long time, and while she is healing, one thing she does not need to worry about is paying bills. She needs to spend time with her grandchildren in Israel, but this is currently unaffordable.
She needs to grieve, not worry about how she will manage financially. Some of the money will also support the publication of Alex’s books, a dream she shared with Alex.
The fundraiser has raised $11,300 in less than 24 hours.
Morrison: Islamic communities in Australia are ‘vulnerable’ to radicalisation
Morrison continues to say there needs to be a focus on radicalisation of Islamic communities in Australia after the Bondi attack.
He said Islamic communities were “vulnerable” to radicalisation:
[The] overwhelming majority are great Australians, but their community is vulnerable. The evidence of that is all to obvious. They need to confront those issues, and it won’t be liked, it won’t be supported.
But that’s the strength and courage that is needed.
Morrison went on to say it was vital that communities had tools and support to tackle radicalisation.
Changes to immigration process ‘necessary for our national security’, says Scott Morrison
Scott Morrison says Australia’s immigration process should be tightened up.
He pointed to the Trump administration’s proposal announced last week where tourists to the United States would have to reveal their social media activity from the last five years.
Morrison pointed to the plan by Australia’s antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal’s, report which called for screening of visa applicants for any antisemitic views or affiliations.
I think the equivalent of what John Howard did on gun control, standing before farmers and saying, ‘we need to change these laws and I don’t think you’re going to like it’, but it’s necessary for our national security, making these changes around immigration.
Scott Morrison says antisemitism has been allowed to ‘sink its deep hooks into our society’
Former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison says the Australian public has not been conscious of antisemitism creeping into society over the past few years.
Speaking to 2GB radio about the Bondi attack, Morrison says a “great failing” has occurred in the past few years, with antisemitism allowed to “sink its deep hooks into our society”:
In many times, I don’t think the public have been very conscious of it.
Morrison described Sunday’s terrorist attack as a “desecration of our country”:
It is going to change us and mark us, and in many ways, I hope it’s going to wake us up to the evil that’s been lurking and growing in our midst.
And that’s a key point in our midst, and that’s what ultimately needs to be encountered.
Peak Muslim body urges imams to use Friday sermons to speak about unity and harmony
The Australian National Imams Council has urged all imams, speakers and community leaders to dedicated their Friday sermons this week to address “unity, harmony and standing together as one nation”.
In a statement, the council said the grief, distress and deep sense of insecurity felt by the Jewish community are “fully acknowledged”:
Our solidarity and compassion are unequivocally affirmed.
We empathise deeply, as Muslims understand the trauma of having a sacred space and time violated, as tragically experienced during the Christchurch massacre.
The council said Islam is a religion founded on mercy, justice, peace and responsibility toward all people and humanity:
The recent acts of terror and violence in Bondi are unequivocally condemned. These criminal and evil acts have no place in our society and world, and we must stand united in rejecting and condemning them and supporting all the victims and those affected.
The pain, fear, and shock felt across Australian society and the world highlight how moments of crisis test character, faith, and moral responsibility.
Nick Visser
NSW paramedics pay tribute to Bondi attack victims
A large group of paramedics with NSW Ambulance have arrived to pay tribute to the victims, carrying flowers and stuffed animals. Dozens of paramedics in their uniform, many hugging each other, are here.
It’s an emotional scene, with many wiping away tears.
Nick Visser
The floral memorial grows at Bondi beach
There is a steady stream of people stopping by to reflect, hug and mourn today at Bondi Pavilion.
The beach is muted on a sunny Thursday, with another floral memorial growing just above the promenade, with the waves in the distance. The scent of the blooms carries over the air as a surfer sits in his wetsuit looking at the tributes.
Frydenberg denies his criticism of the PM is politically motivated
Former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg has denied his fierce criticism of Anthony Albanese over the Bondi attack is politically motivated.
Speaking to Channel Nine’s Today show, he was asked about a clash with the ABC’s 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson last night. In the interview, Ferguson asked Frydenberg if there were political motivations behind his rebuke of Albanese over the Bondi attack, ahead of his “inevitable” return to politics.
He said he was “deeply offended” by the question.
Speaking to the Today show, Frydenberg, who is Jewish, said his criticism of Albanese was “not about politics”:
This is about leadership or the lack leadership that we have seen in Australia. The Jewish community has always enjoyed support from Bob Hawke … to Julia Gillard to Bill Shorten and many, many others. But that bipartisanship has been broken.
Now, when I take my kids to school, there are armed [guards] because it’s a Jewish school. If you take them to Jewish sport, there are armed guards outside the sporting field. Why should we live like this?
Asked about a return to politics, Frydenberg said he “hasn’t made any decisions” about his future but said Australia needed people “who are going to have the courage of their convictions”.
