Jewish community mourn as sunset vigil overlooking Sydney Harbour is held on anniversary of October 7 terrorist attack

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Around 60 people gathered at a vigil overlooking Sydney Harbour on the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack. A giant candle sand sculpture was lit, and prayers were sung to remember those who were killed and taken hostage.

Transcript

00:00Earlier this morning there was a sunrise ceremony just on the steps of Bondi Beach and the mood

00:07there was a really sombre mood.

00:08There were a number of speakers and the people who were gathered there also heard the names

00:12of the 101 hostages who are still held in Gaza being read out.

00:17Now part of these vigils is of course to honour the 1,200 people who were killed in the Hamas

00:22terrorist attacks on Israel and the 250 who were initially taken hostage.

00:27One of the speakers at Bondi this morning was the Federal Senator Dave Sharma and he

00:30said that October 7 last year will forever live in infamy.

00:34He also spoke of one of the first Israeli officials who arrived on the scene last year.

00:39It was a combat veteran he said and Dave Sharma quoted that person as saying it's not a war

00:44or a battlefield, it's a massacre.

00:46There was also a ceremony last night at a site overlooking Sydney Harbour where a giant

00:50sculpture of a candle was lit and there was similar quiet reflection and prayer going

00:54on there.

00:55Now we've heard from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry today.

00:59They're saying that October 7 is a day that the Jewish community will never forget.

01:03Alex Rivchin who is from that organisation says that the impact is felt on two levels.

01:09Obviously there's the immediate impact of seeing that terrible loss of life and perhaps

01:13being directly affected by that.

01:15But he also spoke of the second way people in the Jewish community are affected is by

01:19a rise in incidents of anti-Semitism in Australia.

01:23He's particularly concerned about that but speaking about the anniversary or the marking

01:28of this day, Mr Rivchin said Jewish people on that day last year saw things that they

01:33never thought they would see again.

01:36According to Jewish tradition, a year after an event of trauma and loss, we are compelled

01:42to cease our mourning.

01:44But it is impossible not to mourn when 101 Israelis remain in that hell and when our

01:50community here locally reels from unprecedented scales of anti-Semitism.

01:56Now on those incidents of anti-Semitism, Alex Rivchin is saying that his organisation has

02:00recorded more than 1,800 reported incidents in the last year and he says that's an increase

02:06of more than 300% on the year before.

02:09What have leaders had to say about the other events planned for today, Jeremy?

02:13Well of course there are also pro-Palestinian events going on following very sizeable marches

02:18not only in Sydney but Melbourne yesterday.

02:21Now pro-Palestinian groups are planning a candlelight vigil tonight possibly around

02:25the Sydney Town Hall area and also another area around Lakemba.

02:29Alex Rivchin says that he's expecting to see what he says is going to be more hate this

02:34evening.

02:35He says holding those type of events by that group on this day is horribly inappropriate,

02:40insensitive and he claims that it's intended to provoke and inflame.

02:44But Mr Rivchin also says he's not surprised.

02:47This is of course a debate and a controversy that has been going on for weeks.

02:51So he was asked a lot of questions at his press conference earlier today about the importance

02:56of free speech or the right to assemble and he said of course we don't oppose those things

03:00but we simply ask that today be left alone as a day of mourning but he also recognises

03:05that that was quite an idle request to have.

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