SYDNEY (AP) — In the first full day of opening since a mass shooting driven by antisemitism killed 15 people at Australia's famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, thousands of people returned to the waterfront Friday to commemorate the losses and try to heal through a sense of community.
In a hastily organized event, people gathered shoulder to shoulder on Bondi’s pristine crescent of sand and then formed an enormous circle in the ocean in an expression of solidarity
among Sydney’s residents and support for the Jewish community.
Police reopened parts of the beach Thursday, sparking a return to one of the country's beloved landmarks five days after two shooters attacked a Hanukkah celebration at a park near the shore, killing 15 people.
With questions emerging about whether Australian Jews were sufficiently protected from the threat of attack, and fears of a backlash against Muslims, armed police officers stood guard outside synagogues and mosques in Sydney on Friday.
Strangers embraced and wept during the morning commemoration. Some people stood in prayer near fluttering remains of crime scene tape and the shoes abandoned as people fled the horror of the shooting. Those who joined the circle in the ocean observed a minute’s silence for the dead, the wounded and those who rushed into danger to save them.
Life also began returning to normal on the sand and boardwalk, where people jogged, walked dogs and sipped coffee as the hum of everyday life at Bondi Beach.
In a country where mass shootings are rare and most people pride themselves on an ability to get along, Australians have been stricken and bewildered by the attack. Many looked to cope as they always have, by rising at dawn, donning swimsuits, grabbing surfboards and making their way to the beach.
Some of the beachgoers expressed a fervent wish that Australia’s relaxed and friendly way of life would continue undisturbed.
“I’ve grown up here my whole life,” 22-year-old swimmer Jack Hobbs said. “Today was a reminder of the amazing people where we live and what this community’s built on.”
In the days after the attack, Australians have celebrated those who helped in the aftermath or threw themselves into harm's way to save lives. In a land repeatedly tested by wildfires, floods and other natural disasters, resilience is forged through pulling together in tough times.
Many have embraced the stories of heroism that emerged after the shooting.
Ahmed al Ahmed, an Australian Muslim store owner who was born in Syria, tackled and disarmed one of the two gunmen before he was shot and wounded by the other.
“It was a nice day, everyone enjoying celebrating with their kids,” al Ahmed said from his hospital bed in a video posted to social media Friday. “They deserve to enjoy and it's their right.”
His message was “to stand together, all human beings,” he said.
Australia is “the best country in the world,” al Ahmed said. He raised a fist and, in a faint voice, pronounced a phrase engendering national pride among Australians everywhere: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.”
Al Ahmed's remarks reflected a national mood of solidarity, which included a menorah beamed onto the sails of Sydney's famous opera house and the city's residents queueing for hours to donate blood. In a national record, nearly 35,000 donations were made and more than 100,000 appointments booked since Monday, according to Lifeblood, a branch of the Australian Red Cross.
Through their grief, the families of three Jewish people who died trying to stop the slaughter, Reuven Morrison and Boris and Sofia Gurman, also celebrated their courage.
But a fraught debate has grown in Australia about how to quell the hateful ideologies that apparently drove Sunday's shooting, while Jewish leaders spoke of their grief and rage that the horror had been able to unfold.
“There have been various leaders present here from various parts of the spectrum, trying to kind of groom political capital,” Andrew Stephen said, standing at the beach close to what has become a makeshift memorial of bouquets.
“But these community gatherings have been really good,” said Stephen, 53, who has lived at Bondi for more than 20 years. “People are wanting to connect.”
On Saturday, Bondi Beach's lifeguards will return six days after members of their service became first responders by running toward the gunfire barefoot and clutching first aid kits.
As the familiar sight of their red and yellow flags are planted in the sand to direct beachgoers where to swim, another marker of life at Australia's most famous beach will return.
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Smith reported from Newcastle, Australia, and Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand.
