‘Light will win’ on national day of mourning

NSW Premier Chris Minns has used the national day of mourning to thank the Jewish community for bringing the country together while still raw with grief from the Bondi terror attack.

He conceded his government had made a “major mistake” and there were lessons to be learned after 15 people were killed when two gunmen opened fire on December 14.

“The biggest and most important obligation of any government is to protect its citizens,” he told Nine’s Today Show.

“And the hard reality for us in NSW is that on the 14th of December, we didn’t do that.”

But the resilience of the Jewish community in the face of such adversity has been an inspiration to the rest of the country.

“To the Jewish community, I want to say, thank you,” he said in a statement.

“You could have shattered into a million pieces; instead, your strength has helped unite the nation.”

The premier has enjoyed a surge in popularity for his handling of the Bondi terror attack, according to Resolve Political Monitor polling conducted by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Led by the Bondi Chabad, the theme for the sombre day of national mourning is Light Will Win: A Gathering of Unity and Remembrance.

It is the first time Australia has observed a national day of mourning since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said flags will be flown at half-mast on Thursday, and national institutions in Canberra and Sydney will be illuminated. Click here for details of all events.

It comes as the community is still grappling with the aftermath of the attack.

“It’s not individuals who have lost members of their families,” NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Michelle Goldman told the ABC.

“I think all Australians have lost something – something has been shattered. And innocence has been taken away from Australia.”

A national memorial service at the Sydney Opera House will take place from 7pm and will be streamed online as well as shown on Sky News.

Fifteen candles, one for each victim, will be lit by their families.

Dignitaries slated to attend alongside the prime minister include Governor-General Sam Mostyn, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Mr Minns.

Wentworth MP Allegra Spender, whose electorate is the Bondi area, will be attending a ceremony together with other major political and community leaders arranged by Chabad Bondi, who had organised the December 14 event.

She criticised the politicised discussions in federal parliament this week over hate speech and gun reform laws, arguing it doesn’t help anyone.

“I’ve heard this time and time again from people in my community that they don’t want this to be political,” she told ABC Radio National.

“They want people to unite.”

Mr Albanese encouraged all Australians to participate in their own way by leaving a candle on their window ledge or doorstep, with a minute’s silence scheduled for 7.01pm.

“This will be a very important day of mourning. It will be an opportunity for us to pay respects as a nation to those people who lost their lives,” he said.

In Victoria, a multi-faith vigil will be held earlier on Thursday at St Paul’s Cathedral.

A commemorative installation, 15 Pillars of Light, will also be erected throughout Australian cities.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the National Day of Mourning for the Bondi massacre should be a time of unity, reflection and action, as Australians stand with the 15 families who lost loved ones and the many others suffering lasting physical and mental trauma.

“This National Day of Mourning for the Bondi massacre is an opportunity to come together in support of 15 devastated families and thousands more dealing with physical and mental trauma that won’t soon heal,” Ryvchin said.

He paid tribute to those who were killed, describing them as “patriotic Australians, proud Jews and devoted members of our families and our community”, adding: “They were kind and decent people. We should each seek to live in their image, contributing more, giving more and loving more.”

Ryvchin said the day must also prompt honest national reflection.

“It is also incumbent on us to contemplate how we got here. How we as a nation allowed a poison to flourish in our beautiful country. How hateful mobs and sinister clerics used our landmarks and our streets to summon others to do violence. How our institutions became inhospitable to Jewish Australians. How synagogues and businesses burned. And how 15 of our fellow Australians died for the crime of being Jewish,” he said.

While acknowledging the strong support shown by Australians across the country, Ryvchin urged the community to turn grief into positive action.

“We know that the overwhelming majority of Australians are good, kind, fair-minded and loving people. Many thousands have conveyed their sorrow and solidarity and it meant so much to us. Now let this be the day we turn our pain and grief into a revolution of goodness, of mitzvot (good deeds big and small) that unites our country and drives out the evil. They want it darker but we’ll bring the light,” he said.

The Jewish community has requested that Australians come together through a mitzvah, an act of kindness or compassion.

This can include giving to others, helping the sick, offering hospitality or providing kindness to animals.