Newsletter Weekly Guest Statement
UPJ – This week 30/31 January 2026
Rabbi Allison Conyer’s message on the National Day of Mourning
From the Red Sea to Bondi
Today has been declared a National Day of Mourning for the victims of the Bondi attack. As Jews, many of us have been mourning since 14 December. Some of us recently marked shloshim – thirty days since the tragic deaths. Today, however, we join with all Australians in acknowledging that the Bondi attack was an assault against all Australians and against the foundations and values upon which our beautiful country stands. The stain of innocent blood cannot be ignored. The cries of our people are finally being heard.
This week’s parsha, Bo, recounts the final plagues that bring the Israelites to the shores of the sea. Plague after plague unfolds amid immense and unnecessary suffering, while cries for relief are deflected by a hardened heart. Over the past two years, many feel as if we, too, have endured plague after plague: doxxing, the cancelling of artists and academics, antisemitic slurs initially guised in “anti-Zionist” garb then stripped bare with graffiti clearly stating “Kill the Jews”, firebombed cars, the burning of the Adass Israel Synagogue and, most recently, the murder of fifteen innocent people at Bondi, as we find ourselves, once again, standing at the shores of the sea.
Many have felt deep disappointment, grief, frustration and anger, feeling that our concerns were deflected by hardened hearts in the leadership. Our tradition wrestles deeply with reasons for G-d hardening Pharaoh’s heart, asking what purpose it served and what greater good it revealed. On this National Day of Mourning, I ask those of us who are still struggling with the actions of our leadership to consider what are our reasons for hardening our hearts to change. I hear from many across our TBI and broader Jewish community the sentiment – “Too little. Too late.” If Pharoah stopped hardening his heart after the fifth plague would the Israelites have said “Too little. Too late.”? What does holding on to anger for past actions, or inaction, serve us now? We cannot change the past, but we can choose how we move forward.
Today, we honour the memory of the fifteen innocent lives taken at Bondi. May their memories be a blessing. Let us ensure their deaths are not in vain by refusing to let fear or anger harden our hearts. Instead, may their lives inspire all Australians to recommit to civility, safety and justice. Let us work with our leaders to educate and legislate against antisemitism, so that the tragedy of Bondi is never repeated, and so that Jews in Australia can live openly, safely and proudly – and still call Australia home.
Rabbi Allison Conyer
Temple Beth Israel, Melbourne
