- 7 hours ago
Four Corners - Season 66 - Episode 01: Bondi: Light Over Darkness (Part 1)
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00This program includes graphic and distressing vision of the Bondi terrorism attack.
00:06It also includes coarse language.
00:31It's the worst terror attack in this country's history, a horror that has left Australians
00:40grappling for answers.
00:43Two men armed with weapons and seething with hatred, targeting Jewish Australians.
00:53You could hear it.
00:54You could hear the projectile, and he was just, shoot, reload, shoot, reload.
01:05He's still on the bridge, bro.
01:06Four Corners has pieced together a definitive account of the terror in the words of those
01:12who experienced it and those who lost loved ones.
01:16People were being shot.
01:18People were dying.
01:19If you got up, you would be dead.
01:21I was screaming to her, like, Matilda, Matilda, and she was still conscious, like, and she
01:28was, she could just, just told me that she was hard to breathe.
01:34This isn't about surviving now.
01:37It's about how I'm going to die and how's Shemi going to die.
01:42Amid the horror, those who ran into the gunfire and heroes who protected their loved ones.
01:50He died protecting my mum, being a proud show, lighting the light.
01:59Families of the victims and the friends just need to know that there was people tirelessly
02:04working to save their lives.
02:09How are you bearing up?
02:10Not great.
02:13It's terrific.
02:18On Four Corners, a two-part special series on the massacre that shocked this country.
02:23Next week, the secret lives of the gunmen and the intelligence failures in the lead up to
02:28the attack.
02:28In this episode, we speak to survivors of the slaughter and the families of the victims,
02:34and we explore how Australia is dealing with the scars from that December day.
02:40Had there been more decisive, firm action at the beginning, true leadership, that this
02:45wouldn't have happened.
02:47I want her to be remembered like a light that will overcome darkness.
03:19The sun is starting to dip on another stunning summer's day.
03:23At Australia's most famous beach.
03:33While crowds soak up Bondi's surf and sand, behind the beach at Archer Park, a community
03:40is gathering for the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.
03:45It symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, a belief in miracles, a belief that even if
03:53you're small, even if you're the underdog, eventually goodness prevails.
04:10For me, this event was always something to, like, where we go with kids.
04:15They love it, you know.
04:19Since Matilda was born, we went there every year.
04:24Ten-year-old Matilda is the daughter of two Ukrainian Jews, Michael and Valentina, who
04:30came to Australia for a better life.
04:32And when she was born, they named her in honor of this country.
04:38We were thinking of the name and Matilda came to me.
04:44Matilda, it's such an Australian name.
04:48It has, you know, the wealthy Matilda, Matildas.
04:51For me, it was always associated with Australia.
04:55I thought it'd be a great name.
04:59This is the 31st year the lighting of the Hanukkah candles has been held at Archer Park.
05:06Also enjoying the food and festivities is Israeli tourist Kobi Farkash.
05:11Just to feel the Hanukkah.
05:14The Hanukkah celebration has a special emphasis on family.
05:19It was lovely.
05:21We walked in.
05:22It's just a whole bunch of kids, mostly young and old.
05:27So, little, little, little babies.
05:29Real family event.
05:30There was big bubbles blowing.
05:33Donuts.
05:34Hot dogs.
05:36Petting zoo for the kids.
05:38Giant Connect Four.
05:39Take some video of me for a minute and then I'll take...
05:42Among the crowd is event organizer and community leader Rabbi Ellie Schlanger.
05:50Also enjoying the celebrations are Holocaust survivor Alex Kleitman and his wife Larissa.
05:57Hanukkah is one of the beautiful and ancient celebrations of the Jewish culture.
06:04It's just a beautiful tradition to be surrounded by Jewish people or any people
06:12and to celebrate light against darkness.
06:19For annual attendees Reuven and Leah Morrison, Bondi is a special place.
06:26My parents met on Bondi Beach as two Russian teenage refugees.
06:31My mum was 16 and my dad was 17.
06:37For Bondi local Jessica Chapnick Khan, this Hanukkah gathering is something her five-year-old
06:43daughter Shemi refuses to miss.
06:46She dragged me out of heat, dragging me by the arm.
06:49I want to go to the Hanukkah party.
06:51I want to see the Hanukkah party.
06:55We were meant to be there.
06:59For 10-year-old Matilda, one of the highlights is getting her face painted.
07:03She wanted a dolphin and she was so happy.
07:08When they finished, she asked me to take a photo and she asked me to take a photo from
07:13one side and then from another side.
07:16Like, you know, it was so cute and she was really happy.
07:24Documenting the Hanukkah festivities for the Jewish community is police officer turned photographer
07:28Peter Marr.
07:31What do you say as he's heading out the door that day?
07:35I said to him, knowing that a lot of people I knew would be there, give them my love.
07:52But as the Jewish community celebrates by the beach, a darkness is about to descend.
07:59Two men, a father and son, are pulling up on Campbell Parade just metres down the road.
08:0650-year-old Sajid Akram and his son Naveed have driven from their Airbnb in southwestern Sydney
08:12with two shotguns, a rifle, improvised explosive devices and two Islamic State flags.
08:2124-year-old Naveed Akram walks onto the footbridge overlooking Archer Park and opens fire.
08:32The last thing I remember looking at were the bubbles.
08:36It was so beautiful, these bubbles.
08:39It was rainbows, just huge bubbles.
08:42You know, those really big ones, they're really impressive.
08:44And the rainbows were just filling the space.
08:49And I said, show me, look, bubbles.
08:51And that's when I heard the first shot.
08:56My husband had my daughter.
08:57I was in a conversation with friends.
09:00I knew that my son was with his other grandma.
09:03And I went to go look for them.
09:06I heard a couple of very, very loud bangs.
09:11I'm not familiar with the sound of gunfire.
09:13I've never heard it before in my life.
09:18For Israeli tourist Kobi Farkash, who is filming as he flees, it's a narrow escape.
09:25His footage captures 27-year-old French engineer Dan Elkayam also running away right next to him.
09:35What happened to him?
09:37He's shot, he's killed, he's died because of the terror.
09:52Another who's hit in the opening barrage is Yangi Supa, a medical volunteer on duty at the Hanukkah event.
09:59All of a sudden I felt a zap in my body and I just fell to the ground like in
10:04slow motion.
10:05I fell and then everyone starts screaming as people start running.
10:09I think quite quickly I was shot, but at first I was like, what's just happened to me?
10:14And then, yeah, 15 seconds, the gunshots, everyone running.
10:24With Naveed Akram positioned on the footbridge, his father Sajid is being confronted back near their car.
10:32Dash cam footage captures a moment of heroism as 69-year-old Boris Gurman wrestles the gun from Sajid Akram.
10:40Both Boris and his wife Sophia are then shot dead.
10:48Men, women and children run for their lives.
10:52But for many of those celebrating Hanukkah in Archer Park, there's nowhere to run to.
10:57They are pinned down and trapped.
10:59Where's the fucking police, you fucking bastards?
11:05People at the park only remember seeing two police officers on duty.
11:11I thought that it's going to be over in a second.
11:13I thought there will be police or something.
11:17You know, like, OK, this happened.
11:20In my mind, it's going to end in any moment now.
11:27But the shooting just kept happening.
11:31Jessica Rosen is separated from her husband and two children.
11:39Then I saw someone in front of me fall and they were bleeding.
11:45And I understood it was no longer OK for me to be running around.
11:48It was no longer safe.
11:50Caught the sight of a little girl.
11:53She was screaming for her parents.
11:56Didn't have my own kids with me.
11:59But I took maybe five steps towards her.
12:04I grabbed her, ran back to the chairs and lay down behind the chairs.
12:09Covered the little girl with my body and stayed there while the shooting went on.
12:20Jessica Chapnick Khan wants to run to the beach, but it's too far.
12:25So she takes shelter with her daughter, Shemi, behind a low concrete barrier.
12:32My instinct was to cover every inch of her body with my body.
12:38I don't know how I covered her.
12:41And there were other children under my legs and parents screaming.
12:46Children were just losing it and popping their heads up.
12:52And that Shemi lay still flat.
12:57She didn't say a word. She didn't move.
13:03And I did my best to contain the children that were there just with my legs.
13:09The Akrams are on the footbridge as a police car shrieks by.
13:16Sajid Akram then descends the footbridge stairs towards those cowering in Archer Park.
13:26I am pinned down behind several rows of chairs.
13:34I am lying on top of this little girl.
13:38There are two shooters.
13:40One on the footbridge, one pacing around in front of the fencing.
13:46It seemed casually. It seemed like he was smiling.
13:51People were being shot. People were dying.
13:54If you got up, you would be dead.
14:00As Sajid Akram prowls and fires from just metres away,
14:04Jessica Rosen tries to calm the little girl.
14:07I got you. I got you.
14:10I got you. I got you.
14:12I got you. I got you.
14:14I knew that I needed to be calm for myself.
14:17And I knew that I needed to be calm for her.
14:20She asked me what's happening.
14:23She asked me who I was.
14:27She asked me where her mummy and daddy was quite a lot of times.
14:29She said she wanted her mummy, she wanted her daddy.
14:32I told her I understood that and that we were just going to stay here for a little while.
14:37We're going to stay here and we're going to be nice and stay.
14:41No one's going to hurt us.
14:43Can you hide?
14:45Yeah, we can hide.
14:46They can hide, but for some it's no protection from the bullets.
14:50Oh, that guy's got shot. Oh, oh my God.
14:55A woman lying a metre and a half away from me.
14:59She was shot in the head.
15:03I saw her.
15:05Her body must have turned with the impact.
15:08She was not a woman anymore.
15:11She was a body.
15:13Could have been me.
15:15We couldn't move.
15:16We needed to stay where we were.
15:19I tried to...
15:21I was lying on top of the little girl trying to shield her fuse.
15:24I really hoped she didn't see.
15:26Get down!
15:28Get on the ground!
15:30Another parent at the Hanukkah event is Leon,
15:33who threw himself on his youngest daughter when the shooting started.
15:38I had a few of the bullets, particularly from...
15:42The gunman up on the bridge fly just past my head.
15:49You could hear it.
15:51You could hear the projectile.
15:53Also, the other gunman, the older gunman,
15:56he was just...
16:00Shoot.
16:02Reload.
16:03Shoot. Reload.
16:07Wounded and on the ground,
16:08medical volunteer Yankee Super is in serious trouble.
16:14The bullet went in my back and missed my spine by about two centimetres.
16:19But the shrapnel collapsed my right lung.
16:24Straight away blood started pouring out of my nose and mouth.
16:29And it became difficult to breathe and very difficult to talk as well.
16:32At that point I grabbed my radio.
16:35I see the breath.
16:36All right, time four, where are you bleeding from?
16:38Where are you bleeding from?
16:40Distressed and breathless, Yankee makes an emergency call.
16:4423, you need to calm down and try to stop the bleeding.
16:47I can't breathe.
16:48I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.
17:02And then I realised, oh my God.
17:04Oh my God.
17:07They're body parts.
17:09Before that I'd been like praying and kind of,
17:12you know, wanting to survive.
17:14And that, when that spray came over I realised,
17:19oh, this isn't about surviving now.
17:22It's about how I'm gonna die and how is Shemi gonna die?
17:34from his home over the road from archer park freelance cameraman nick castellaro
17:39he's the rapid pops of gunshots
17:45and i got up and i was coming down and people were coming in and the people from over the
17:51road
17:51we're taking shelter obviously taking shelter and i got here and i looked across the road
17:57and i saw the jewish festival and i knew what we what was going on for this veteran who has
18:05worked
18:05around the world there is just one thing to do the only decision i had to make was what camera
18:10do i take i knew this was a major event
18:16inching towards the source of the gunfire nick castellaro will capture the chaos carnage and
18:22cruelty of sajid and navid akram's terror attack from just meters away
18:31among those under fire in the park are alex and larissa kleitman
18:37amid the barrage of bullets alex moves to cover his wife of 57 years with his body
18:45so he always described mom to be the love of his life and his whole life
18:53and that he would do everything to protect her and i think this is what he was doing making sure
19:00that he close to her near her provides this shield to protect her
19:21the world's life guard coordinator daniel mclachlan swings into action
19:28i just grabbed a couple of medic kits i don't know what i grabbed but i just grabbed anything and
19:32we
19:32ran over into into where the where the people were injured
19:44were you worried that you're running into a live fire situation 100 i could hear the shots going off
19:51while our lifeguards are in there and we were running into it hearing it um you know the police
19:57were telling mouse to duck down and take cover and there was a lot of screaming it was mayhem
20:06amid the mayhem as jessica rosen lies on the ground shielding an unknown child from the gunfire
20:11she hears from her husband and my husband sent me a text to say that he was safe
20:17that he had my daughter um this is why the bullets are being fired bullets are still firing we both
20:24understood that it would not be wise to call um i texted him back saying that i have a little
20:31girl
20:31and she's not mine someone has been shot at that point i was actually physically dripping blood onto my
20:38phone i took a photo a selfie of myself to see where i was injured if i was injured
20:49michael and valentina are separated from matilda and their other daughter six-year-old summer
20:54they are desperate to find them and then i saw matilda she she actually ran to where we were sitting
21:03because she got scared and then i was screaming to her like matilda matilda and i and i started to
21:11crawl around around those chairs to where she was and that's when i like when i realized that she was
21:19she was hurt i took my shirt over i was trying to you know cover the wound and i was
21:26trying to pull her
21:27out we were just just trying to calm her down trying to tell her please just just wait wait wait
21:35you know
21:36this help will be coming soon and um yeah she was she was still
21:47she was still conscious like and she was she could just just told me that she was hard to breathe
21:58alone on the footbridge navid akram briefly ceases firing then turns and appears to shoo
22:05away people not from the harnika event
22:10he then resumes firing into archer park at those trying to take cover
22:18these people came not only to slaughter jews obviously that that's self-evident
22:23But in the act, they acted coolly with composure methodically
22:27to destroy as many lives as they possibly could.
22:32It's just unbelievable.
22:34As everyone takes shelter,
22:3662-year-old Reuven Morrison decides to take action.
22:41Reuven is a family friend of ours.
22:43He walked through the middle of active gunfire.
22:45I didn't understand what he was doing at the time.
22:48I yelled at him to get down,
22:50but he was just walking into danger.
22:54Through all the gunfire, my father gets up.
22:57He saw no-one was doing anything, so he got up himself to protect.
23:01He's running through the crowd and he's rediverting the terrorists.
23:07Creeping closer to the footbridge,
23:09freelance cameraman Nick Castellaro films the chaos and carnage in the park
23:13before panning his camera to capture an act of great courage.
23:20Oh!
23:21Oh, my God!
23:22Tackling Sajid Akram, Sutherland tobacconist,
23:25Ahmed Al-Akhmed, manages to disarm him.
23:29Yeah, somebody got it. Somebody got it.
23:32The tackle, he came flying into the frame
23:35and then the guy takes the gun off him
23:38and he's standing in front of him.
23:40The terrorist, for want of a better word, falls out of shot
23:42and I thought he'd shot him
23:44because the sound, there was the sound of another gun.
23:46But as it happened, he hadn't shot him.
23:48He hadn't. He hadn't.
23:51The shooting Nick Castellaro hears
23:53is actually from the footbridge.
23:55With his father disarmed,
23:57Naveed Akram begins firing at Ahmed Al-Akhmed
23:59and Israeli Geffen Bitton.
24:02Both men end up seriously wounded.
24:10As Akram retreats back towards the footbridge
24:13to rejoin his son,
24:15Reuven Morrison charges at him.
24:22At one point, he gets hold of a brick
24:25and you can see the footage
24:26of him throwing that directly at the terrorist,
24:29which threw him off in that moment.
24:30He saved lives, he saved moments,
24:33he gave people time to flee,
24:35time to hide
24:36and to be able to leave with their lives.
24:40Having thrown something at Sajid Akram,
24:43Reuven Morrison is then shot
24:45and critically wounded.
24:51How proud are you of your father?
24:53It's just so him.
24:55It epitomises how he lived his life.
24:58He did incredibly brave,
25:01incredibly heroic,
25:04incredibly selfless thing,
25:05because that's the sort of person that he was.
25:09He walked in to put himself in danger
25:13to try and save others, and he did.
25:15You think he saved lives?
25:17I do.
25:21For Jessica Chapnick-Kahn,
25:23a survival instinct has kicked in.
25:27I thought, this is our moment.
25:29I'm not letting her die in this.
25:31This isn't how she dies.
25:35This isn't how we die,
25:37in horror,
25:38in wailing,
25:40in gunshots,
25:41in splashing body parts.
25:43And I whispered,
25:45and I whispered,
25:46well, I don't think it was a whisper,
25:47but it was a,
25:48right in her ear.
25:50I said,
25:50Shemi,
25:52go inside yourself.
25:56Go to your heart where all the love is
25:58and stay there.
25:59Stay there, my baby.
26:00Stay there.
26:04And I felt her instantly just melt into me.
26:07Like, she heard me.
26:08She heard me.
26:08I knew she'd heard me.
26:11By now,
26:12Nick Castellaro has joined police officers
26:15who've arrived on the scene.
26:17Suddenly,
26:18Navid Akram swings his weapon
26:20in Nick's direction.
26:24He then seems to gesture
26:25for the cameraman to go away.
26:30So, where were you, Nick?
26:31I reckon it's about here.
26:32Because I could see this cat's eyes, mate.
26:34It was,
26:35you know,
26:36it was,
26:36it was that close.
26:38And I,
26:38because I was moving around a bit,
26:40I know that annoyed him.
26:41Because he's,
26:41he's actually gone to me,
26:42fuck off.
26:43And then had a shot.
26:47He's on the bridge, mate.
26:48He's on the bridge.
26:50Girls, he's shooting.
26:51If I can take a shot,
26:52you get a look at him.
26:53Get down!
26:53Get out of this face!
26:56In the chaos,
26:57Nick Castellaro tries to help the police
26:59track the gunman's movements.
27:01They were pinned.
27:02They didn't have line of sight to this guy.
27:06His face,
27:07he's got his back to you, bro.
27:08He's on the bridge.
27:09So,
27:10I was doing my best to just say,
27:11like, he's coming our way,
27:12or, you know,
27:13he's,
27:13he's got his back to you,
27:14or, you know.
27:15He's still on the bridge.
27:16He's still on the bridge.
27:19With Sajid Akram,
27:20re-armed and rejoining his son
27:21on the footbridge,
27:22police are closing in
27:24and firing back,
27:26causing the gunman
27:28to begin taking cover.
27:30One of the officers
27:31is Detective
27:32Cesar Barraza.
27:35Suddenly,
27:35the older Akram falls,
27:38most likely shot by Barraza.
27:41The younger Akram swings round
27:44and begins firing
27:45in the detective's direction.
27:48Intent on the murder of innocence
27:50for Naveed Akram,
27:52there will be no surrender.
27:56Fucking die, cunt!
27:57Die!
28:00Just over a minute
28:02after his father,
28:03Naveed Akram,
28:04is also brought down
28:06by police fire.
28:10F**k yeah!
28:11F**k shit!
28:14Yeah, they got him!
28:19He's down, he's down!
28:24At ground level,
28:25Nick Castellaro
28:26captures the moment
28:27police move on
28:28to the footbridge
28:29and the chaos that follows.
28:37One bystander is,
28:38for a moment,
28:39suspected of being
28:40part of the shooting.
28:42Another man
28:43swings a kick at him.
28:45And it kind of went
28:46from one explosive
28:47situation to another
28:49and it was really...
28:52Just crazy, mate.
28:53Just crazy.
28:59Police handcuff
29:00Naveed Akram
29:01who's wounded
29:02but alive.
29:03Fucking bash him!
29:05His father is dead.
29:13From the footbridge,
29:14Nick Castellaro
29:15moves back
29:16to Archer Park
29:17and a scene of horror.
29:25It was harder
29:26going to the park
29:26than the shootout.
29:28Pretty confronting.
29:29It was, mate.
29:30It was.
29:32When your best option
29:34is to lie on top
29:35of someone
29:35and use yourself
29:36as a body bag.
29:38Yeah,
29:39it's not a good
29:40situation, is it?
29:45One of those
29:46who used herself
29:47as a human shield,
29:48in her case,
29:49to protect a small child
29:50she didn't even know,
29:52is Jessica Rosen.
29:54I didn't move
29:55until the girl's dad
29:56came.
29:57He was crouched.
29:59He said,
29:59you've got my little girl.
30:01And she said,
30:02daddy.
30:03I was very,
30:04very happy
30:04and relieved
30:05to give it to her daddy.
30:08That was the first
30:09sort of sign
30:10that maybe things
30:11were okay.
30:11Stay down!
30:12Stay down!
30:13Stay down!
30:14Get the fuck down!
30:16Are you okay?
30:18Where have you been?
30:19Multiple people entered.
30:21I need assistance now!
30:23Among the wounded
30:24getting treatment
30:25is medical volunteer
30:26Yankee Super.
30:27Yankee,
30:28we're only going to be
30:28in here.
30:29Okay, be quiet.
30:30Okay.
30:32Having sheltered
30:33behind a low barrier
30:34for what seemed
30:35like an eternity,
30:37Jessica Chapnick-Khan
30:38now has another horror
30:39to confront
30:40with her daughter.
30:41And we got up
30:43and I said to Shemi,
30:44Shemi,
30:45close your eyes,
30:45do not look around.
30:46She said,
30:47why?
30:48And I said,
30:49because
30:50we're walking forward.
30:52Mum and Shemi
30:52are walking forward
30:53and we're leaving
30:54and we don't need
30:55to see anything else.
30:57And I got up
30:58and she did exactly
31:01what I told her.
31:02She put her head
31:02right here
31:03and I looked around
31:07and I couldn't
31:09believe what I saw,
31:10that what I was feeling
31:11was a reality,
31:13that this was a reality,
31:15that this entire
31:18bloodbath
31:19was a reality
31:21and we walked
31:22over the bodies
31:25and I walked
31:26straight,
31:27just forward
31:28and there was
31:28a policeman there
31:29and I said,
31:31what do I do?
31:32And he said,
31:33run home.
31:36Among the first
31:37responders treating
31:38the wounded
31:39are Bondi lifeguards,
31:41including veteran
31:41Daniel McLaughlin
31:43and his team members,
31:44Michael and Mario.
31:46There's another one.
31:46There are four.
31:47There are four.
31:49First thing I see
31:50is Michael
31:51just attending
31:52to young officers
31:54being shot
31:54in the face,
31:55stomach.
31:57Horrific.
31:58Horrific injuries
31:59on people.
32:03Some of the little
32:04things will stick
32:05with you
32:05and one of them
32:05for me was having
32:06to remove the defib
32:07off for a patient
32:08that was deceased
32:09in front of their
32:10family to put on
32:11another person
32:12and taking that
32:12off was,
32:13I knew in that
32:15moment that was
32:15a hard thing
32:16for me to do
32:17and they just
32:18wanted help
32:19but I had to
32:19take that off
32:20to put on
32:20someone else
32:21to try and save
32:22them.
32:22Let's go on
32:23brother.
32:24You come.
32:27Volunteer
32:27lifesavers
32:28have tried
32:29desperately
32:29to save
32:30Shana Guttnick's
32:30father,
32:31Reuven Morrison,
32:32who confronted
32:33the older gunman.
32:34Reuven has
32:35multiple gunshot
32:36wounds.
32:38Thank God
32:39the Sydney
32:40lifeguards
32:41had run in
32:41incredible heroes
32:43putting their
32:44own lives at risk
32:44to help others.
32:46They were
32:46doing CPR,
32:48giving him
32:49precious moments
32:49of life.
32:50Through this time
32:51he's still responding,
32:52he's responding
32:52his name.
32:54Another
32:55who showed
32:55great courage
32:56is Alex
32:57Kleitman.
32:58who moved
32:59to shield
32:59his wife
32:59Larissa
33:00from the
33:00gunfire.
33:02Alerted to
33:03the carnage
33:03at Bondi,
33:04their daughter
33:05Sabina
33:05rings her
33:06mother.
33:07She says,
33:08you no longer
33:09have a father.
33:10He's just
33:11been shot.
33:12He was
33:13dead almost
33:14immediately.
33:15My mum
33:16sucked in
33:16blood,
33:17standing next
33:18to him.
33:20I was
33:21screaming
33:22for so long
33:24and I
33:25had to
33:25put water
33:25on my
33:26face
33:26to stop
33:27screaming.
33:30Also
33:31among those
33:31killed
33:31is event
33:32co-organiser
33:33and respected
33:34Jewish
33:34community
33:34leader,
33:35Rabbi
33:35Eli
33:36Schlanger.
33:38It's a
33:38void that
33:39can never
33:39be filled.
33:41That's
33:45what he
33:46did for
33:46the community
33:49a hundred
33:50people
33:50couldn't do.
33:53and the
33:53youngest
33:54victim,
33:55ten-year-old
33:55Matilda.
33:58She had
33:59such a
34:00kind heart
34:01and she
34:01was always
34:02giving
34:03and always
34:09happy.
34:11She was
34:12always happy.
34:13Just
34:14remember her
34:15as
34:17smiling,
34:17happy,
34:18ten-year-old
34:19Aussie girl.
34:21The New
34:21South Wales
34:22ambulance
34:22have been
34:23coming and
34:23going as
34:24they triage
34:25and get
34:25the people
34:26the care
34:27that they
34:27need.
34:28Virginia
34:28Wynne-Markham
34:29has seen
34:29the news
34:30on TV
34:30and has
34:31been
34:31desperately
34:32trying to
34:32contact
34:33her husband,
34:34event
34:34photographer
34:34Peter
34:35Marr,
34:35for hours.
34:37After
34:38two phone
34:38calls with
34:39police,
34:39I got a
34:40call at
34:401.04 in
34:41the morning
34:41on Monday
34:42and it
34:43was from
34:44the community
34:44liaison
34:45officer and
34:46she said,
34:47is that
34:48Virginia?
34:48And I
34:49said,
34:49yes.
34:49And she
34:49said,
34:50are you at
34:50home?
34:51I said,
34:51yes.
34:51She said,
34:52I'm on
34:52my way.
34:53So the
34:54liaison
34:54officer
34:54comes here
34:55and it's
34:57the worst
34:57news you
34:58could ever...
34:58Yeah.
34:59She said,
34:59well,
34:59I can
34:59confirm
35:01that Peter
35:01was shot
35:04and she
35:05and she
35:05gestured
35:05to this
35:06region
35:07and she
35:08said that
35:08he passed
35:09on scene.
35:11That I
35:12think words
35:12to the
35:13effect of
35:13when first
35:14responders
35:15reached him,
35:16they knew
35:17there was
35:17nothing they
35:17could do.
35:24For the
35:25lifeguards who
35:26rushed up from
35:26the beach to be
35:27among the first
35:28to help,
35:28the scene in
35:29Archer Park
35:30still haunts
35:31them.
35:35I just want
35:36to really
35:36acknowledge that
35:37the families
35:39of the victims
35:40and the friends
35:41just need to know
35:42that there was
35:43people tirelessly
35:44working to save
35:46their lives.
35:49How are you
35:50bearing up?
35:51Not great.
35:52It's
35:53terrific.
35:55Like,
35:55just,
35:56you try and do
35:56your best to
35:57be a leader
35:59of people
35:59in a horrific
36:01time.
36:15The worst
36:16terror attack
36:17in Australian
36:18history has
36:19left 15
36:20innocent people
36:21dead and 40
36:22injured.
36:24This planned
36:26and deliberate
36:26horror has
36:27shattered lives
36:28and left a
36:29community
36:30struggling with
36:31grief.
36:37What has
36:38always been a
36:39paradise and
36:40a place of
36:40enjoyment is
36:41now a crime
36:42scene and a
36:44site of
36:45national mourning.
36:50Bondi is a
36:51place where
36:51everyone is
36:52welcome.
36:52This violates,
36:54I think, the
36:54very heart of
36:55Bondi.
36:56The Jewish
36:56community, I
36:57cannot speak for
36:58how devastated
36:58they are.
36:59The grief,
37:01fear, the
37:02anger, it
37:02is so deep
37:04right now.
37:04People are
37:05saying, am I
37:06welcome here
37:07at all?
37:07I met
37:08someone today,
37:09eighth generation
37:09Australian,
37:10saying, I don't
37:11know I can
37:12stay here
37:12anymore.
37:13This is the
37:14level of, I
37:14think, trauma
37:15that people
37:15are feeling.
37:28The Hanukkah by the
37:30sea event was
37:31organized by
37:31Chabad Bondi.
37:33And 24 hours
37:34after the
37:35slaughter, the
37:36community gathers
37:36at the
37:37organization's
37:37synagogue to
37:38pray and to
37:39grieve.
37:41But there is
37:42also a pointed
37:43message to be
37:44delivered.
37:45A warning
37:46what happens
37:47when you let
37:48anti-Semitism
37:49fester.
37:51And in the
37:51face of such
37:52tragedy, and
37:54in their honor
37:55and merit, we
37:56the community
37:57refuse to be
37:57diminished.
37:59We commit
38:00ourselves to
38:01honoring their
38:02memory, not
38:04only with words,
38:05but with action.
38:15Community
38:15leaders say
38:16levels of
38:16anti-Semitism
38:17have soared in
38:18the past few
38:19years.
38:21Alex Rivchen
38:22from the
38:23Executive
38:23Council of
38:24Australian
38:24Jury has
38:25felt it
38:25firsthand, with
38:27his former
38:27home vandalized
38:28and nearby
38:29cars torched.
38:31And that's
38:32why for two
38:33years we've
38:33been raising
38:34the alarm,
38:34because we
38:35know where
38:35things go.
38:36We see the
38:37fixation that
38:38people exhibit,
38:39we see the
38:40incitement, and
38:41it always ends
38:42this way.
38:43It's always
38:43ended this
38:43way.
38:48Following the
38:49October 7
38:50bloodbath by
38:51Hamas that
38:52left 1,200
38:53Israelis dead,
38:54and the
38:54subsequent
38:55Gaza war in
38:56which Israel
38:57killed tens of
38:58thousands of
38:58Palestinians,
38:59mostly civilians,
39:01members of the
39:02Jewish community
39:03say anti-Semitism
39:04in Australia
39:05reached unprecedented
39:07levels.
39:09Post-October 7,
39:11it became more
39:12real, became more
39:13possible.
39:13There was more
39:14visible anti-Semitism,
39:17anti-Semitism coming
39:19from new fronts.
39:21There became a new
39:23vector of very, very
39:26strong anti-Israel
39:28sentiment, which
39:29sometimes spills over
39:32into anti-Jewish
39:33sentiment, anti-Semitic
39:35sentiment.
39:36That was new.
39:38People were scared of
39:39it, but I never
39:40thought it would end
39:42in violence.
39:44The government
39:45appointed a special
39:46envoy to combat
39:46anti-Semitism who
39:48came up with a
39:48comprehensive strategy
39:49which has not been
39:50implemented.
39:51I can't help but
39:53conclude that had
39:54there been more
39:55decisive, firm
39:56action at the
39:57beginning, true
39:58leadership, that
39:59this wouldn't have
39:59happened.
40:07At a memorial a
40:09week after the
40:09massacre, many
40:11there made very
40:12clear their opinion
40:13of the Prime
40:13Minister's performance
40:14influence in
40:15confronting
40:15anti-Semitism.
40:17The Prime
40:18Minister of
40:18Australia, Anthony
40:19Albanese.
40:24I firmly believe
40:26from my personal
40:27relationship with the
40:29Prime Minister and my
40:30dealings with him
40:31that he's a good
40:32and decent human
40:33being.
40:33He abhors racism,
40:34anti-Semitism.
40:36After the attack on
40:37my old home, he was
40:37one of the first to
40:38call and I could hear
40:39in his voice that he
40:41was shaken and he
40:42was distressed by it
40:43and I know that's
40:44sincere, I have no
40:44doubt about that.
40:47But we need a
40:48Prime Minister to
40:49lead, to show
40:49leadership, to go
40:50beyond what's
40:52politically expedient,
40:53what the party room
40:55says, what this
40:56faction says.
40:57That's what
40:58leadership is, it's
40:58about transcending
40:59that, going beyond
41:00that.
41:00There was so much
41:03anti-Semitism that
41:04was allowed to grow
41:05unchecked.
41:07There was no
41:08consequences and
41:10that was a green
41:10light to all the
41:12anti-Semitism
41:13that was
41:13underground, to
41:14suddenly come to
41:15the surface.
41:16Hawaii, our
41:18synagogues!
41:18The Prime Minister
41:19declined an interview
41:20request from Four
41:21Corners.
41:25For many of those
41:26who were in
41:27Archer Park that
41:28December day, there
41:29is disappointment
41:30that the Prime
41:30Minister had to be
41:31pressured to call a
41:32Commonwealth Royal
41:33Commission.
41:35I think when you've
41:37got 15 people,
41:39most of them
41:40Australian, that
41:42have died on
41:44Australian soil and
41:46you've got their
41:47blood on the grass
41:49and the sand of
41:50Bondi Beach, to
41:52not immediately say
41:58obviously this needs a
42:00Royal Commission.
42:03It's unthinkable.
42:11Five weeks after the
42:13Bondi massacre, the
42:14Federal Parliament passed
42:15hate speech and gun
42:17reform laws.
42:18We cherish the promise.
42:19At a day of mourning that
42:20same week, the Prime
42:22Minister apologised to the
42:23Jewish community for
42:24failing to keep them
42:25safe.
42:26I am deeply and
42:28profoundly sorry that we
42:30could not protect your
42:31loved ones from this
42:33evil.
42:35The New South Wales
42:37government has moved to
42:38crack down on protests by
42:39giving police more power to
42:41ban street demonstrations
42:42for up to three months.
42:45In a move that has been
42:47condemned by civil
42:48libertarians, the Premier
42:50also wants some chants and
42:52statements banned.
42:56I'd like to see it
42:57globalised the
42:57Intifada banned.
42:59I mean this is globalising
43:00a violent resistance.
43:02So not Gaza, the West
43:04Bank, Israel, the
43:05Middle East, but here in
43:07Australia.
43:08And ultimately didn't we
43:09just see what globalised
43:10the Intifada means?
43:12How much of a fine line is
43:13it though?
43:14I mean I'll be honest with
43:15you, we don't have the
43:16same free speech rules that
43:18they have in the United
43:19States.
43:20We don't.
43:20They're different here.
43:21And criminalising it so that
43:24we can protect not just
43:25individuals who have a fear
43:27of walking down the street
43:29and being racially vilified
43:31but also a recognition that
43:32we've got people from
43:33around the world, from
43:34different races, different
43:35religions.
43:35We come to Australia, we
43:36live side by side.
43:37We don't just tolerate one
43:38another, but we try and
43:40draw out the best of each
43:41other's cultures and ideas
43:42and identities and make it
43:44a homogenous Australian one.
43:45Well that does require
43:46guardrails.
43:59My dad was killed
44:01for who he was.
44:04So yes, he survived the Nazis,
44:07he survived the Soviets,
44:08he survived all sorts of hate.
44:10He didn't survive that type of
44:12hate.
44:24In the face of hate,
44:25thousands have gathered at
44:27Bondi Beach in a show of unity
44:28and in support of the Jewish
44:30community.
44:33But the horror of that day
44:35remains raw for those who
44:36witnessed it, like Bondi local
44:38and cameraman, Nick Castellaro.
44:42The beach helps, the water
44:44helps, you know, it's a bit of
44:46a healer.
44:47It's just sad, mate.
44:48As I say, it's just sad for
44:50Bondi, but sad for our country,
44:51mate.
44:52That's what I think.
45:00Shana Goodnick's parents met at
45:02Bondi Beach.
45:04And it's where her father,
45:05Reuven, died, defending the
45:07lives of others.
45:10For us, it's a place
45:13that's at the same time
45:16filled with Jewish blood,
45:18but an iconic Sydney
45:19landmark where so many
45:22heroes rose up on that day,
45:24gave their lives up for
45:26others, ran through the
45:28shooting to protect, to save
45:30and to help.
45:31So at one hand, we have the
45:33absolute massacre that occurred
45:34there, but we have so many
45:36stories of light and heroism
45:38coming forward.
45:40And for the professional
45:42lifeguards and volunteer
45:43lifesavers who work at Bondi
45:45and who rushed in to help that
45:46day, a simple message to the
45:48families who lost loved ones.
45:53I'm pretty adamant just to let them
45:55know that no one was left alone in
45:58their time of need.
45:59The care and love I saw everyone
46:00get given, holding their hand all
46:04the way to the end, wherever that
46:05was, where they were being led to an
46:08ambulance or they were in their last
46:10moment, there was good, caring people
46:12around all the time, working tirelessly
46:15to save their lives.
46:16Like, if that's some small thing that
46:20the families and friends can take out
46:21of it, they weren't alone.
46:22They were definitely not alone.
46:26Others have to navigate the terrible
46:28events of that day with their children.
46:31Like Jessica Chapnick-Khan, who shielded
46:33her daughter Shemi with her body.
46:37When she found out Matilda died, and that
46:40really broke me, and the look on her
46:43face was, like, horrifying to me.
46:46She just, she looked so hurt, and she
46:53just said, can a child die?
46:54Can a kid die?
46:57It's hard enough for an adult to even
47:00understand this whole thing, let alone
47:03a five-year-old.
47:22The Jewish 30-day mourning period, known
47:25as Sloshim, is coming to an end.
47:31Down at Bondi, thousands, including
47:34survivors and the families of victims,
47:37have come to commemorate and to comfort,
47:39among them Jessica Chapnick-Khan.
47:42May we find a new path with heart, a new
47:45path of wisdom, that children and people
47:51everywhere may live and breathe in peace.
47:55Thank you for holding us and for witnessing
47:58this story.
48:08They didn't die helpless.
48:10Every day during the 30-day mourning period,
48:13the names of those who were killed have been
48:15read out.
48:16Reuven Morrison, 62 years of age.
48:21He saved lives in those moments, and he took
48:23those bullets.
48:24He was always our hero.
48:26Growing up, I was a little girl, always so proud
48:28of my dad.
48:29And now we could share his heroism with the
48:31whole world.
48:33Alex Clayton, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.
48:38He came here to escape that hate and to escape that
48:41darkness.
48:42He died protecting my mum.
48:44Being a proud Jew.
48:46Lighting for light.
48:52Standing against anti-Semitism, something which was
48:55very dear to him.
48:58Tanya Tratiak.
49:01Adam Smythe.
49:03Boris Tetleroid.
49:05Edith Brutman.
49:07Boris and Sophia Gorman.
49:10Rabbi Yaakov Leberton.
49:12Mark Apogany.
49:1427-year-old Dan L. Kayam.
49:17Tibor Whiteson.
49:20Rabbi Eli Schlanger.
49:22Peter Maher.
49:2361 years of age.
49:25He was doing what he loved among people who knew him
49:30and in some respects loved him.
49:33When I found out that that last photo of young Matilda with the bubbles, that Peter had taken
49:40that, it warmed my heart that there was such a joyful photo, a remembrance of her.
49:52I want her to be remembered like a light that will overcome darkness.
49:59Nothing will return her back, but if her death will do something good, something good, it will
50:06mean a lot to me.
50:13Do you have any flowers?
50:16Yes.
50:17Barber well up.
50:18Hey, oh, stingy.
50:20For Michael and Valentina, their focus is now on their six-year-old daughter, Summer,
50:25allowing her to both grieve and to grow.
50:29It's okay.
50:30Hug you.
50:31Oh.
50:32We have to worry about her.
50:33We have to make sure that she's okay and she doesn't see us always, you know, in distress.
50:40Sorry, guys.
50:41Can I get a couple of minutes?
50:42I'm sorry.
50:43Of course.
50:44Of course.
50:44Sorry, I need a bit of fresh air.
50:46Yeah, yes, of course, of course.
50:48Sorry, Michael.
50:48Whoa, I'm so sorry.
50:49It's okay.
50:58My family went home that day and they lit candles and they lit candles every day of Hanukkah,
51:05even when it was hard.
51:07Once a little bright girl played by the ocean shore under the shade.
51:16There is light and I have been so grateful and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and
51:25support and we refuse to believe that darkness is going to overcome light.
51:32We won't let it.
51:33Up in the night sky, her smile is shining bright as day.
51:41I hope and I'm glad that this song will be connected to Alma Tilda for maybe, you know,
51:47for the future because this song is connected to Australia and I feel like, you know, like
51:53Alma Tilda will be remembered through that song and connected forever.
52:00There we are.
52:01Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you come waltzing Matilda with me.
52:13She sang and she laughed in the dancing flames of power.
52:20You'll come a-waltin' Madilda with me
52:50You'll come a-waltin' Madilda with me
Comments