Hundreds of Perth locals collect at The Perth Hebrew Congregation Synagogue vigil for Bondi bloodbath victims | USAEMALL.com

Hundreds gathered at the Perth Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Menora on Thursday night for a moving vigil paying tribute to the 15 lives lost in the Bondi Beach massacre.

Mourners and well-wishers stood together in quiet reflection as they remembered the victims and offered support to survivors and grieving families in the wake of the horrific attack.

The president of the Jewish Community Council of Western Australia, Dr Michael Levitt, described the killings as a tragedy that would reverberate far beyond Australia.

“This is not just a local tragedy — it is a global one,” Dr Levitt said.

“Fifteen people were slaughtered, and it carries the echoes of Jewish history.

“Two hundred years from now, people in the Jewish world will still be talking about what happened at Bondi Beach.”

Dr Levitt said the community was grappling with disbelief, distress and anger, warning that long-standing concerns about the link between hate speech and violence had gone unheeded.

“We’ve been warning about this connection. And those warnings — from the most senior voices in Australian Jewish life — were ignored,” he said.

Responsibility now sat squarely with governments, he said.

“They have seen what is happening in plain view and received the clearest warnings about what was likely to happen.”

While acknowledging it was “too late” for the victims and their families, Dr Levitt said stronger laws and decisive action were still essential.

“It’s never too late to arrest a downward cycle,” he said.

“Anti-Semitism is carried out by anti-Semites. Treating it like some kind of adverse weather event misses the point entirely.

“We know who they are. They carry placards with anti-Semitic slurs. They fly flags that are brazenly anti-Semitic. They are declaring themselves — proudly. Government knows who they are and needs to address that.”

Appearing via Zoom, the president of the Rabbinical Council of NSW, Rabbi Shua Solomon, said Sunday felt like “October 7” all over again.

“I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that we faced our own version, in many ways, of October 7,” he said.

October 7, 2023, marks the day Hamas carried out a co-ordinated terrorist attack on Israel, killing about 1200 people — mostly civilians — in the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.

“There is no one in the community who has not been affected,” Rabbi Solomon said.

“We are united both in our grief and in our shock.

“Although we have a long way to go, we can rebuild, we will rebuild and we will continue to stand as proud Jews in this great country.”

Premier Roger Cook addressed the crowd with heartfelt words of solidarity.

“At times like this, it is difficult to find the words to adequately account for what has occurred over the last week,” he said.

“This is a time for Western Australian unity.”

Mr Cook acknowledged the significance of Hanukkah, which was being celebrated at the time of the attack, urging the community to find hope and strength in its message.

“Its message calls us all to shine a light in darkness. To find the strength of will to overcome despair. And it calls on Jewish people to proudly and publicly demonstrate their faith,” he said.