London vigil attendees cheer for ‘hero’ while paying tribute to Bondi Beach terror attack victims

At least 15 people were killed, including a 10-year-old girl and a British-born rabbi

Around 100 mourners gathered outside Australia House last night (December 14)(Image: James Manning/PA Wire)

Around hundred people gathered at a vigil in Westminster last night (December 14) to pay tribute to the victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. At least 15 people, including a London-born rabbi, have died and 38 were injured when a father-son duo shot at a Jewish celebration in Sydney on Sunday, Australian police said.

Yisroel Lew, a rabbi at Chabad of Bloomsbury and Marylebone, spoke at the gathering outside Australia House on Sunday night. Wishing every attendee an “illuminated Hanukkah”, he said: “Just a small amount of light, a small good deed, can drive away a long darkness and that has always been the Jewish response, that remains our response.

“After hearing what happened, the first thought was: how can we get more light, how can we bring more light into the world, how can we have more Hanukkah events? Go to Hanukkah events, don’t be afraid and celebrate Hanukkah.”

A rabbi lights a menorah during the vigil(Image: James Manning/PA Wire)

He told attendees that Eli Schlanger, a Golders Green native who was among those killed in the attack, was a childhood friend of his. “He really was a picture of kindness, of warmth, of service, of helping others,” Rabbi Lew said.

He then lit a menorah to mark the first day of Hanukkah and attendees sang prayers. Fiyaz Mughal, founder of the Muslims Against Antisemitism charity, told attendees he was “honoured” to stand with the Jewish community.

“I wanted to come and speak in solidarity with you because the threats against you continue to rise, and it’s important that people like me make it clear that Islamist extremism, the hatred against you from small but entrenched parts of my communities, need challenging. The sense of intimidation you have to live through is appalling.”

New South Wales Police have declared the Bondi Beach shooting a terrorist incident, but the gunmen’s motive has not been officially confirmed.

The first day of Hanukkah was marred by tragedy(Image: James Manning/PA Wire)

Attendees at the vigil cheered for a “hero” who was filmed tackling a gunman and grabbing his gun during the attack. Mr Mughal said: “There was a member of the Muslim community, Ahmed al Ahmed, who risked his life.”

Mr al Ahmed, a father-of-two, has been named by relatives as the man fighting the terrorist in a video shared widely on social media. His family said Mr Ahmed, from the Sutherland area of Sydney, remains in hospital where he has undergone surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and hand.

Author and social media content creator Dov Forman, also speaking at the event, condemned a “pattern” of terrorist attacks against the Jewish community coinciding with Jewish religious festivals. “This has become a grim pattern,” he said.

“First, it was Simchat Torah in Israel on October 7 2023. Then Manchester on Yum Kippur in October. And now today, at Bondi Beach in Australia on the first night of Hanukkah.”

Mr Forman accused the UK Government and media for fuelling antisemitism in the context of the war in Gaza. “People want to pretend that these attacks come out of nowhere, but we here tonight know that they do not.

“They come off the back of months and years of incitement, after hate marches, after graffiti, after threats, after chants to “globalise the intifada”. We Jews have been warning governments and authorities again and again, across the world, about the levels of incitement taking place and the dangers of the rising antisemitism and Islamic extremism across the West.

“The mainstream media that fuelled this are to blame, the Government that refused to act are to blame, all those who marched, who chanted, who justified and excused the hatred are to blame, and unfortunately all those who stayed silent, who simply ignored this, are to blame.”

Mark Birbeck, founder of the Our Fight campaign which aims to convince non-Jews to stand against antisemitism, also attended the vigil. He had an injury to his eye after he was reportedly attacked on Thursday when he and other campaigners organised a counter-protest to a boycott demonstration outside a restaurant in Notting Hill, whose owners reportedly provided meals to soldiers in Israel.

“It’s so important for the Jewish community to know that they have allies,” he told the Press Association, “It’s also really important to be visible, to be out, to show that these kinds of things are not going to drive people off the streets.”

Who were the gunmen?

Two gunmen, armed with what police described as “long guns”, opened fire on more than 1,000 people attending a Jewish festival in the Archer Park area of Australia’s most famous beach at 6.47pm local time on Sunday. They have since been confirmed as father and son.

The older of the two, a 50-year-old man, was shot by police and died at the scene while his 24-year-old son suffered critical injuries and was taken to hospital under police guard. At a press conference on Monday afternoon, New South Wales (NSW) state police commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed the younger gunman is expected to live to face criminal charges.

“We do have a 24-year-old male in hospital at the moment. Based on his medical condition it is likely that person may face criminal charges,” he said.

Mr Lanyon also said the father had a licence for six weapons and added that these were the guns found to have been used in the attack. He was part of a gun club, but Mr Lanyon said police were still gathering information about the attackers.

Properties in the Campsie and Bonnyrigg areas of the city have been searched. The commissioner said reports that a black Isis flag was draped over the attacker’s car “would form part of the investigation”.

He added that police were confident there was not a third person involved in the attack. He earlier said that one of the offenders had been known to authorities but there had been no “specific threat”.

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