After the anti-Semitic attack in Bondi, Jews and Muslims call for unity and the refusal of hatred

In the aftermath of the anti-Semitic Bondi attack, leaders from the Jewish and Muslim communities called on Australians to respond with unity and solidarity, refusing any attempt to divide. On Monday evening in Sydney’s Hyde Park, a healing vigil brought together Jewish and Muslim worshipers, alongside First Nations representatives and many citizens, to pay tribute to the victims and support those affected.

Speakers included Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins, of Emanuel Synagogue, and Bilal Rauf, representative of the Australian National Imams Council. Both insisted on the strength of the bonds between their communities in the face of violence and fear. Rabbi Kamins welcomed the many messages of support received from Muslims and other faiths, recalling that “we are all flesh and blood, but also bearers of light”. Bilal Rauf, for his part, expressed the solidarity of the Muslim community towards the Jewish community, describing the attack as “deeply upsetting”. Referring to shared trauma, particularly after the Christchurch attacks, he stressed that “when a community is attacked, the whole of society is attacked”, calling for us to stand “shoulder to shoulder” against hatred and extremism.

This joint vigil reveals a valuable civic dynamic in a world marked by the rise of identity-based violence. By choosing unity rather than one-upmanship, religious leaders have shifted the center of gravity of the debate: from fear to collective responsibility. The shared words of Rabbi Kamins and Bilal Rauf show that interfaith solidarity is not an opportune slogan, but a political and moral practice capable of defusing the logic of stigmatization. By recalling common traumas – from Bondi to Christchurch – they place the fight against hatred in a transversal collective memory, where the safety of each person depends on the dignity of all. This position, minority but decisive, outlines a credible path to resist extremism: to stand together, without prioritizing suffering or giving in to divisive entrepreneurs.