"The death toll from the appalling atrocity in Sydney is shocking enough: at the time of writing, 15 people killed, including a child, and many more injured. Awful images circulate, as they always do. The mobile phone footage of two gunmen calmly taking aim at families enjoying a Hanukah party is utterly chilling. It takes a special kind of dehumanisation, an ideology of pure hatred and self-righteous conviction, to do that."
"The sheer randomness of these sites of anti-Jewish murder adds to the terror. Places that used to feel like safe, cosy corners of the Jewish world are now suddenly on the frontline. In Manchester, it was the solemn occasion of Yom Kippur that was targeted. In Sydney, it was the happy, lighthearted joy of Hanukah."
"Nobody should have to live like this. More to the point, our societies cannot continue to function if this becomes the norm. The whole basis of western liberal democracy, the belief in shared values within a diverse society, is endangered by these attacks. We are yet to discover the detailed motivations of the Bondi attackers, but it looks for all the world like a product of the same Islamist extremism that struck in Manchester. And nobody doubts that it will strike again."
Anti-Jewish terrorism has spread across five continents since 7 October 2023, with murders from Heaton Park to Bondi Beach and victims in the UAE and Egypt. Islamist extremism and hateful ideology drive attacks that target ordinary religious and community gatherings, including Yom Kippur services and Hanukah celebrations. Graphic mobile footage and random site selection magnify fear and demonstrate deep dehumanisation by attackers. Jewish individuals now face life-or-death decisions about attending public religious events. The frequency and openness of these assaults threaten the functioning of pluralistic liberal democracies and demand recognition that terrorism is ideologically motivated, not random.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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