Daily Telegraph editorial: Terror strikes at Sydney’s home of sun and beauty
There should be no need for the risk and sacrifices Bondi saw on Sunday – not in any country, much less in peaceful, cohesive, friendly Australia, where our most famous beach has welcomed friends and strangers alike for centuries.
The first images to emerge from Sunday’s deadly Bondi Beach terror attack were chilling – and chillingly familiar.
Outlines of figures in black, firing weapons from the Bondi Pavilion footbridge, recalled an earlier seismic horror committed on the global stage.
They were echoes of the Munich Massacre of 1972, when Islamic terrorists stormed the Olympic village during that year’s games.
By the time that pointless and brutal atrocity had ended, 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were dead and the Olympic Games would forever be scarred.
Now our own Bondi Beach, also celebrated internationally as a peak destination for the young and innocent, is also soaked in blood.
At Bondi in 2025, as in Munich 53 years ago, the targets were Jewish. The Chanukah by the Sea event celebrated the start of Hanukkah, a literally illuminating rite that blends perfectly with Bondi Beach’s natural beauty.
Then the first shots were fired.
“Suddenly we heard popping noises,” Evan Zlatkis, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s media director told The Daily Telegraph. “Dozens and dozens of popping noises.”
Zlatkis himself was among the many injured by the gunmen.
As night fell on Sydney, the death toll from this terror attack stood at 12 – a number that could well have been higher but for one act of extraordinary heroism.
In an online clip that instantly raced around the world, a man was shown advancing on one of the gunmen.
His subsequent actions are a personification of bravery. He took down the gunman in a tight tackle, wrestled the weapon away and then pointed it at the assailant.
It must forever be noted that the gunman, with his weapon removed, immediately skulked away like a complete coward.
Heroes also came forward at Munich in 1972. Heroes always have, in terror attacks from September 11 in the US in 2001 to Bali in 2002 and from London in 2005 to Israel in 2023.
But there should be no need for such risk and such potential life-ending sacrifice – not in any country, much less in peaceful, cohesive, friendly Australia, where our most famous beach has welcomed friends and strangers alike for centuries.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke shortly after news broke of the Bondi terror attack, properly focusing on the efforts of those providing rapid medical and police attention.
“The scenes in Bondi are shocking and distressing. Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.
“My thoughts are with every person affected.”
And now our country changes.
This is not a time for sympathetic words. It’s a time for strong laws
