The daughter of a Bondi Beach terror attack victim fears antisemitism has been “allowed to come out into the open” in the wake of the massacre, a royal commission has heard.
The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion was established about a month after the massacre in Sydney, in which 15 people were killed and dozens more injured at a Hannukah event on December 14.
Sheina Gutnick is the daughter of Bondi victim Reuven Morrison. His family fled Ukraine under the Soviet Union.
On Monday, she told the commission that antisemitism had changed how she “moved” through the world.
“Emotionally, I want to instil in my children as much pride in their Jewish heritage, but at the same time, have a real awareness,” she said.
Ms Gutnick said she had felt a shift after Bondi that was “deeply alarming for all community members”.
She said she had seen “hundreds of comments” online in recent months, including that she “should’ve been killed” as well, and that Jews had “staged” the attack for “attention or sympathy”.
Ms Gutnick called for more education around antisemitism, Jewish identity and the “real-world consequences of hatred”.
Hatred ‘more emboldened’, royal commission hears
“Ugly displays of hostility” towards the Jewish community have been the focus of the first day of hearings.
Zelie Heger SC, a counsel assisting the commissioner, identified the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, in which more than 1,200 people were killed by Hamas, as a “significant turning point of antisemitism”.
She said this was experienced through doxxing, graffiti, heckling and synagogues being targeted.
“We’ve heard many new stories of Jewish Australians going about their daily lives and being exposed to … attacks and more flippant, subtle antisemitism,” she said.
“Hatred is louder and more emboldened than ever.”
Ms Heger said she hoped the royal commission would help the public “understand and empathise” with the community as a “key step in handling the scourge of antisemitism”.
Former high court judge Virginia Bell SC on Monday delivered her opening remarks in her capacity as royal commissioner.
“The sharp spike … that we’ve witnessed in Australia has been mirrored in other Western countries and seems clearly linked to events in the Middle East,” Commissioner Bell said.
The commissioner said “images and sentiments” of antisemitism could be traced as far back as the Middle Ages.
The first portion of public hearings will be focused on defining antisemitism as well as its prevalence and impact on the Jewish community.
Counsel assisting Richard Lancaster SC said the royal commission would seek to understand how antisemitism “manifests in Australia” as well as the “current character of antisemitism” in the country.
Twelve witnesses, including Holocaust survivor Peter Halasz, are also expected to share their lived experience of antisemitism today.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin is also expected to give evidence on the first day of hearings.
Some people will give evidence under a pseudonym due to safety and privacy concerns.
The commission has now accumulated more than 7,400 submissions and is expected to receive more throughout its duration.
Two more hearing blocks are scheduled, with a final report due a year to the date of the terror attack.
These sessions will focus on the key drivers of antisemitism, its prevalence in institutions and industries targeted for online hate and the circumstances surrounding the Bondi Beach terror attack.
The first block is expected to run until next Friday.
