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Four Corners - Season 66 - Episode 01: Bondi: Light Over Darkness (Part 1)
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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.
17:02I can't breathe.
17:03I can't breathe. Oh, my God.
17:07They are truly
17:08Parts.
17:09Before that I had been praying and kind of, you know, wanting to survive.
17:15And that, when that spray came over, I realised, oh, this isn't about surviving now,
17:22it's about how I'm going to die. And how is Shemmy going to 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 lifeguard coordinator daniel mclaughlin swings into action
19:28i just grabbed a couple of medic kits what i don't know what i grabbed but i just grabbed anything
19:31and
19:32we we ran over into into where the where the people were injured
19:38the world's lifeguardian and his team are well trained in treating trauma wounds
19:42not running into gunfire were you worried that you're running into a live fire situation
19:49a hundred percent i could hear the shots going off while our lifeguards are in there and we were
19:54running into it hearing it um you know the police were telling mouse to duck down and take cover
20:00and there was a lot of screaming it was mayhem amid the mayhem as jessica rosen lies on the ground
20:09shielding an unknown child from the gunfire she hears from her husband my husband sent me a text
20:16to say that he was safe that he had my daughter um this is why the bullets are being fired
20:22bullets are
20:22still firing we both understood that it would not be wise to call um i texted him back saying that
20:30i
20:30have a little girl and she's not mine someone has been shot at that point i was actually physically
20:37dripping blood onto my phone i took a photo a selfie of myself to see where i was injured if
20:45i was injured
20:48michael and valentina are separated from matilda and their other daughter six-year-old summer they are
20:55desperate to find them and then i saw matilda she she actually ran to where we were sitting because
21:03she got scared and then i was screaming like matilda matilda and i and i started to crawl around around
21:13those chairs to where she was and that's when uh like when i realized that she was she was hurt
21:21i took
21:22my shirt over i was trying to you know cover the wound and i was trying to pull her out
21:27we were just
21:29just trying to calm her down trying to tell her please just just wait wait wait you know this help
21:37will be coming soon and um yeah she was she was still uh she was still conscious like and she
21:49was she
21:51could 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 away
22:05people not from the hanika event he then resumes firing into archer park with those trying to take
22:15cover these people came not only to slaughter jews obviously that that's self-evident but in the act
22:24they acted coolly with composure methodically to destroy as many lives as they possibly could
22:31it's just unbelievable as everyone takes shelter 62 year old reuven morrison decides to take action
22:41reuven is a family friend of ours he walked through the middle of active gunfire
22:45i didn't understand what he was doing at the time i yelled at him to get down but he was
22:51just walking
22:52into danger through all the gunfire my father gets up he saw no one was doing anything so he got
23:00up
23:00himself to protect he's running through the crowd and he's re-diverting the terrorist
23:07creeping closer to the footbridge freelance cameraman nick castellaro films the chaos and
23:12carnage in the park before panning his camera to capture an act of great courage
23:22tackling sajid akram sutherland tobacconist ahmed al-akhmed manages to disarm him
23:32the tackle he came flying into the frame and then the guy takes the gun off him and he's standing
23:39in front of him the terrorist for one of a better word falls out of shot and i thought he'd
23:43shot him
23:44because the sound there was the sound of another gun but as it happened he hadn't shot he hadn't he
23:50hadn't the shooting nick castellaro hears is actually from the footbridge with his father disarmed
23:57navid akram begins firing at ahmed al-akhmed and israeli geffen biton both men end up seriously wounded
24:10as akram retreats back towards the footbridge to rejoin his son reuven morrison charges at him
24:22at one point he gets hold of a brick and you can see the footage of him throwing that directly
24:28at
24:28the terrorist which threw him off in that moment he saved lives he saved moments he gave people time to
24:34flee time to hide and to be able to leave with their lives having thrown something at sajid akram
24:43reuven morrison is then shot and critically wounded
24:51how proud are you of your father it's just so him it epitomizes how he lived his life
24:58he did incredibly brave incredibly heroic incredibly selfless thing because that's
25:06the sort of person that he was um he walked in to put himself in danger to try and save
25:14others
25:14and he did you think he saved lives i do
25:21for jessica chapnick khan a survival instinct has kicked in
25:27i thought this is our moment i'm not letting her die in this this isn't how she dies this isn't
25:35how
25:36we die with in horror in wailing in gunshots in splashing body parts in and i whispered well i don't
25:46think it was a whisper but it was a right in her ear i said shemi go inside yourself
25:55go to your heart where all the love is and stay there stay there my baby stay there
26:04and i felt her instantly just melt into me like she heard me she heard i knew she'd heard me
26:11by now nick castellaro has joined police officers who've arrived on the scene
26:18suddenly naveed akram swings his weapon in nick's direction
26:23he then seems to gesture for the cameraman to go away
26:30so where were you nick i reckon it's about here because i could see this cat's eyes mate like it
26:35was you know it was it was that close and i because i was moving around a bit i know
26:40that
26:40annoyed him because he's he's actually gone to me and i'm gonna off and then had a shot
26:47he's on the bridge mate he's on the bridge
26:56in the chaos nick castellaro tries to help the police track the gunman's movements
27:01they were pinned they didn't have line of sight to this guy
27:06his face he's got his back to your bro he's on the bridge so i was doing my best to
27:11just say like
27:11he's coming our way or you know he's he's got his back to you or you know he's still on
27:16the bridge
27:16he's still on the bridge with sajid akram re-armed and rejoining his son on the footbridge police
27:23are closing in and firing back causing the gunman to begin taking cover one of the officers is
27:32detective cesar baraza suddenly the older akram falls most likely shot by baraza
27:41the younger akram swings round and begins firing in the detective's direction
27:48intent on the murder of innocence for naveed akram there will be no surrender
27:55fucking die cunt die
28:01just over a minute after his father naveed akram is also brought down by police fire
28:10fuck yeah
28:13yeah they got him
28:19he's down he's down
28:24at ground level nick castellaro captures the moment police move on to the footbridge
28:29and the chaos that follows
28:37one bystander is for a moment suspected of being part of the shooting another man swings a kick at him
28:45and it kind of went from one explosive situation to another and it was really just crazy man just
28:54crazy
28:59police handcuffed naveed akram who's wounded but alive
29:05his father is dead
29:13from the footbridge nick castellaro moves back to archer park and a scene of horror
29:24it was harder going to the park than the shootout
29:28pretty confronting it was mate it was when your best option is to lie on top of someone and use
29:35yourself as a body bag
29:38yeah it's not a good situation is it
29:45one of those who used herself as a human shield in her case to protect a small child she didn't
29:51even
29:51know is jessica rosen
29:54i didn't move until the girl's dad came he was crouched he said you've got my little girl
30:01and she said daddy i was very very happy and relieved to give it to her daddy
30:06um that was the first sort of sign that maybe things were okay
30:22among the wounded getting treatment is medical volunteer yankee super
30:32and she said that she was in the hospital and she was in the hospital in the hospital
30:33having sheltered behind a low barrier for what seemed like an eternity jessica chapnik khan now
30:38has another horror to confront with her daughter and we got up and i said to shemi
30:44shemi close your eyes do not look around she said why and i said because
30:50we're walking forward mama and shemi are walking forward and we're leaving
30:54and we don't need to see anything else and i got up and she did exactly what i told her
31:02she put her
31:02head right here and i looked around
31:07and i couldn't believe what i saw that what i was feeling was was was a reality that this was
31:14a reality
31:15that this entire bloodbath was a reality and we walked over the bodies
31:25and i walked straight just forward and there was a policeman there
31:30and i said what do i do and he said run home
31:36among the first responders treating the wounded are bondi lifeguards including veteran daniel
31:42mclaughlin and his team members michael and mario there's another one there are four
31:47beautiful first thing i see is is michael just attending to young officers being shot in the
31:55face stomach horrific horrific injuries on people
32:03some of the little things will stick with you and one of them for me was having to remove the
32:07defib off
32:08for patient who was deceased in front of their family to put on another person and taking that off was
32:14i knew in that moment that was that was a hard thing for me to do and they just wanted
32:18help but i
32:19had to take that off to put on someone else to try and save them let's go on brother
32:24you come
32:27volunteer lifesavers have tried desperately to save shana goodnick's father reuven morrison who confronted the
32:33older gunman reuven has multiple gunshot wounds thank god the sydney lifeguards had run in incredible heroes putting their own
32:44lives at risk to help others
32:45they were doing cpr giving him precious moments of life through this time he's still responding he's responding his name
32:54another who showed great courage is alex kleitman who moved to shield his wife larissa from the gunfire
33:02alerted to the carnage at bondi their daughter sabina rings her mother she says you no longer have a
33:09father he'd just been shot he was dead almost immediately my mom sucked in blood standing next
33:18to him i was screaming for so long i had to put water on my face to stop screaming
33:30also among those killed is event co-organizer and respected jewish community leader rabbi ellie
33:36schlanger it's a void that can never be filled that's
33:45what he did for the community
33:49a hundred people couldn't do
33:53and the youngest victim 10-year-old matilda
33:58she had such a kind heart and she was always you know giving and always
34:08yeah always always always happy she was always happy just remember her is smiling happy 10-year-old
34:19those and girls the new south wales ambulance have been coming and going as they triage and get
34:25the people the care that they need at the virginia win markham has seen the news on tv
34:30and has been desperately trying to contact her husband event photographer peter ma for hours
34:37after two phone calls with police i got a call at 104 in the morning on monday and it was
34:44from the
34:44community liaison officer and she said um is that virginia and i said yes and she said are you at
34:50home
34:50i said yes she said i'm on my way so the liaison officer comes here and yeah and it's the
34:57worst news
34:57you could ever yeah she said well i can confirm that peter was shot and she gestured to this region
35:08and she said that he passed on scene that um i think words to the effect of when first responders
35:15reached him they knew there was nothing they could do
35:24for the lifeguards who rushed up from the beach to be among the first to help
35:28the scene in archer park still haunts them
35:35i just want to really acknowledge that the families of the victims and the friends just need to know that
35:43there was people tirelessly working to save their lives how are you bearing up not great it's terrific
35:54like just you try and do your best to be a leader of people in a in a horrific time
36:15the worst terror attack in australian history has left 15 innocent people dead and 40 injured
36:25this planned and deliberate horror has shattered lives and left a community struggling with grief
36:37what has always been a paradise and a place of enjoyment
36:41is now a crime scene and a sight of national mourning
36:50bondi is a place where everyone is welcome this violates i think the very heart of bondi
36:55the jewish community i cannot speak for how devastated they are the grief the fear the anger it is
37:03so deep right now people are saying you know am i welcome here at all you know i met someone
37:08today
37:08eighth generation australian saying i don't know i can stay here anymore this is this is the level of
37:14i think trauma that people are feeling
37:28the hanika by the sea event was organized by habad bondi and 24 hours after the slaughter the community
37:36gathers at the organization's synagogue to pray and to grieve but there is also a pointed message to be
37:44delivered a warning what happens when you let anti-semitism fester and in the face of such tragedy
37:53and in their honor and merit we the community refuse to be diminished
37:59we commit ourselves to honoring their memory not only with words but with action
38:14community leaders say levels of anti-semitism have soared in the past few years
38:21alex rivchin from the executive council of australian jury has felt it firsthand with his former home
38:27vandalized and nearby cars torched and that's why for two years we've been raising the alarm because
38:35we know where things go we see the fixation the people exhibit we see the incitement and it always
38:42ends this way it's always ended this way following the october 7 bloodbath by hamas that left 1200
38:53israelis dead and the subsequent gaza war in which israel killed tens of thousands of palestinians
38:59mostly civilians members of the jewish community say anti-semitism in australia reached unprecedented levels
39:09post october 7 it became more real became more possible there was more visible
39:15anti-semitism anti-semitism coming from new fronts there became a new vector of
39:25very very strong anti-israel sentiment which sometimes spills over into anti-jewish sentiment
39:34anti-semitic sentiment that was new people were scared of it but i never thought it would end in
39:42violence the government appointed a special envoy to combat anti-semitism who came up with a
39:48comprehensive strategy which has not been implemented i can't help but conclude that had there been more
39:55decisive firm action at the beginning true leadership that this wouldn't have happened
40:06so it's a very important thing to do with the prime minister of australia i firmly believe from
40:26my personal relationship with the prime minister and my dealings with him that he's a good and decent
40:32human being he abhors racism anti-semitism after the attack on my old home he was one of the first
40:38to call and i could hear in his voice that he was shaken and he was distressed by it and
40:43i know that's
40:44sincere i have no doubt about that but we need a prime minister to lead to show leadership to go
40:50beyond
40:51what's politically expedient what the party room says what this faction says that that's what leadership
40:58is it's about transcending that going beyond that there was so much anti-semitism that was allowed to
41:05grow unchecked there was no consequences and that was a green light to all the anti-semitism that was
41:13underground to suddenly come to the surface the prime minister declined an interview request from four
41:21corners for many of those who were in archer park that december day there is disappointment that
41:30the prime minister had to be pressured to call a commonwealth royal commission
41:35see i think when you've got 15 people most of them australian that have died on australian soil
41:45and you've got their blood on the grass and the sand of bondi beach to not immediately say
41:58obviously this needs a royal commission um it's unthinkable
42:11five weeks after the bondi massacre the federal parliament passed hate speech and gun reform laws
42:17we cherish the promise at a day of mourning that same week the prime minister apologized to the jewish
42:24community for failing to keep them safe i am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect
42:31your loved ones from this evil the new south wales government has moved to crack down on protests
42:39by giving police more power to ban street demonstrations for up to three months
42:45in a move that has been condemned by civil libertarians the premier also wants some chants and statements banned
42:56i'd like to see globalized the intifada band i mean this is globalizing a violent resistance so not gaza
43:03the west bank israel the middle east but here in australia and ultimately didn't we just see what
43:10globalized the intifada means how much of a fine line is it though yeah i mean i'll be honest with
43:15you
43:16we don't have the same free speech rules that they have in the united states we don't they're different
43:21here and criminalizing it so that we can protect not just individuals who have a fear of walking
43:28down the street and being racially vilified but also a recognition that we've got people from around
43:33the world from different races different religions we come to australia we live side by side we don't
43:38just tolerate one another that we try and draw out the best of each other's cultures and ideas and
43:43identities and make it a homogenous australian one well that does require guard rails
43:59so my dad was killed for who he was so yes he survived the nazis he survived the soviets he
44:08survived
44:09all sorts of hate he didn't survive that type of hate
44:24in the face of hate thousands have gathered at bondi beach in a show of unity and in support of
44:30the jewish
44:30community but the horror of that day remains raw for those who witnessed it like bondi local and
44:39cameraman nick castellaro the beach helps the water helps you know it's a bit of a healer it's just sad
44:48made as i say it's sad for bondi but sad for our country mate that's what i think
45:00shana goodnick's parents met at bondi beach and it's where her father reuven died defending the lives of others
45:10for us it's a place that's at the same time filled with jewish blood but an iconic sydney landmark where
45:21so many heroes rose up on that day gave their lives up for others ran through the shooting to protect
45:29to
45:29save and to help so at one hand we have the absolute massacre that occurred there but we have so
45:36many
45:36stories of light and heroism coming forward and for the professional lifeguards and volunteer lifesavers
45:44who work at bondi and who rushed in to help that day a simple message to the families who lost
45:49loved ones
45:53i'm pretty adamant just to let them know that no one was left alone in their time of need the
45:59care and
45:59love i saw everyone get given holding their hand all the way to the end where wherever that was
46:06where they were being led to an ambulance or they were in their last moment there was good caring
46:12people around all the time working tirelessly to save their lives like if that's some small
46:19thing that the families and friends can take out of it they weren't alone they were definitely not alone
46:26others have to navigate the terrible events of that day with their children
46:30like jessica chapnik khan who shielded her daughter shemmy with her body
46:37when she found out matilda died and that really broke me and the look on her face was like horrifying
46:45to me
46:46she just she looked so hurt
46:52and she just said can a child die can a kid die it's hard enough for an adult to even
47:00understand this
47:01whole thing let alone a five-year-old
47:22the jewish 30-day mourning period known as sloshim is coming to an end
47:31down at bondi thousands including survivors and the families of victims
47:36have come to commemorate and to comfort among them jessica chapnik khan
47:42may we find a new path with heart a new path of wisdom
47:49that children and people everywhere may live and breathe in peace
47:56thank you for holding us and for witnessing this story
48:08they didn't die helpless every day during the 30-day mourning period
48:12the names of those who were killed have been read out
48:16reuven morrison 62 years of age he saved lives in those moments and he took those bullets
48:24he was always our hero growing up as a little girl always so proud of my dad
48:29and now we could share his heroism with the whole world
48:33alex clayton an 87 year old holocaust survivor
48:38he came here to escape that hate and to escape that darkness
48:42he died protecting my man being a proud Jew lighting the light
48:52standing against anti-semitism something which was very dear to him
48:59and tanya tretiak adam smythe boris tetleroid edith broodman boris and sophia gorma
49:09rabbi yaakov levitin mark apogany 27 year old dan l kayam
49:17tibor watson rabbi ellie schlanger peter marr 61 years of age
49:25he was doing what he loved among people who knew him and in some respects loved him
49:33when i found out that that last photo of young matilda with the bubbles
49:38that peter had taken that it warmed my heart that there was such a joyful photo a remembrance of her
49:51i 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 mean a lot
50:07to me
50:12do you have any flowers yes
50:20for michael and valentina their focus is now on their six-year-old daughter
50:24summer allowing her to both grieve and to grow
50:28it's okay hug you oh we have to worry about her we have to make sure that she's okay and
50:35she
50:36doesn't see us always you know in distress oh sorry guys can i get a couple of minutes i'm sorry
50:43i just of course of course sorry i need a bit of fresh air yeah yes of course of course
50:47sorry mark
50:58my family went home that day and they lit candles and they lit candles every day of hanokka even when
51:06was hard once a little bright girl play by the ocean shore
51:13there is light and i have been so grateful and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support and
51:26we refuse to believe that darkness is is going to overcome light we won't let it
51:36night sky her smile is shining bright as day i hope and i'm glad that this song will be connected
51:44to our matilda for maybe you know for the future because this song is connected
51:49to australia and i feel like you know like our matilda will be will be remembered through that song
51:58and connected
51:58so
51:59and she sang and she laughed
52:16In the piercing flames of clover
52:20You'll come a-wanting
52:24Madilda with me
52:46Madilda with me
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