Where are we heading to?

Rabbi Adi Cohen

Where are we heading to?

The Shiva, the first seven days of mourning, for the victims of the Bondi terror attack has ended. Australia moved on, we are old news. Grief does not end. Responsibility does not end.

As a rabbi, in the last couple of weeks I spoke words of comfort. Today, I speak words of anger.

Quiet anger. Moral anger.

The kind of anger that comes when warning signs are ignored for too long, when leaders choose political comfort over public safety.

Jews were targeted in Bondi. Others were injured as well. This attack did not appear out of thin air. It sits within a wider and ongoing failure to confront the rising hatred directed at Jewish Australians. Saying it clearly and simply – the Australian federal government has failed the Australian public.

Antisemitism has been rising for years. On social media. On university campuses. In protests. In public life. There has been a 400% increase in social media anti-Semitic comments after the Bondi attack. The response has been hesitant and evasive.

Statements without consequence. Concern without action.

There has been a refusal to clearly address the rise of radical Islam and religiously motivated terrorism.

Naming a problem is not an attack on a community. It is the first step toward protecting all communities. Avoiding the issue does not create harmony. It creates denial.

The fear of offending and losing voters, becomes stronger than the duty to protect.

A clear example is the public display of terrorist group symbols at protests. Symbols associated with violence, murder, and intimidation. Symbols that are banned in other democratic countries.

Here, they are often explained away as political expression.

Authorities hesitate. Leaders qualify their language. The result is predictable.

Extremism learns where the limits are. Jewish Australians learn that their fear is negotiable.

This is what tolerance without moral boundaries looks like. It does not produce peace. It produces permission.

Hate is allowed in Australia’s public space. Fear becomes normal.

There has been a refusal to leave the political comfort zone.

A refusal to clearly name and confront radical Islam and religiously motivated terrorism.

Naming an ideology is not an attack on a faith community. It is an act of responsibility. Avoidance does not protect social cohesion. It corrodes it. That corrosion is felt daily by Jewish families.

This ‘new normal’ terrified the Iranian community, Muslim and other refugees who fled from radical regimes only to find them welcomed in a country they believed to be a safe-heaven.

Jewish schools operate behind gates with armed guards. Jewish cultural events begin with security briefings. Jewish prayer takes place behind barriers.

This is not resilience. This is adaptation to neglect.

Jewish students feel unsafe in schools and universities. Many hide their identity. Some are told their fear is political.

Others are told it is exaggerated. Fear does not disappear because it is inconvenient to acknowledge.

None of this is acceptable.

Section 116 of the Australian Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. Freedom does not mean worshipping under protection. It does not mean living behind fences. It means safety without apology.

Jewish ethics are clear on moments like this. The Torah teaches, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbour.” Silence in the face of danger is not neutrality. It is moral failure.

‘Ethics of the Sages’, Pirkei Avot teaches, “In a place where there are no people, strive to be a person.” Leadership is tested precisely when clarity costs votes. This is a failure of policy just as it is a failure of courage.

The government must confront extremism clearly, enforce boundaries consistently, and protect Jewish Australians without hesitation, it must lead by showing moral clarity.