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When violence erupts in a place as iconic — and beloved — as Bondi, it tears a hole in the fabric of trust we all rely on to live together.

The recent antisemitic shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach was an attack on people at prayer and on the idea that every person and community should be able to live out their faith fully, in public, in peace. This tragic moment is a reminder to us that religious freedom is not just freedom for my faith, it is a foundational public good, and it is one that that can easily be lost if we are not constantly vigilant.

At this tragic moment, religious freedom also means the freedom for neighbours to worship, celebrate, mourn and stand in solidarity, even when we disagree on ultimate things.

In Australia, many faiths have faced hostility, abuse, or simply silencing of our beliefs. However, none have seen the level of coordinated violence that our Jewish brothers and sisters are experiencing. This is a tragedy that all faiths must be united in standing against.

As our hearts break for this community, and we reach out to our Jewish friends and neighbours in support, we long to do something to prevent an evil like this ever happening again.

In specific response to antisemitism, I encourage you to connect with Never Again Is Now, a multi-faith organisation formed to combat this unique form of racism and religious intolerance.

More widely, we need to continue to strengthen our free democratic society, and the religious freedom that underpins it.

Religious freedom helps prevent violence by bringing faith into the centre of our society, not pushing it behind closed doors. By protecting the right to disagree strongly in public, religious freedom channels tension into debate instead of violence, and allows all faiths to develop the trust and dialogue that are the foundations of a truly civil society.

We must resist the spirit of our age that insists that disagreeing with someone is the same as hating them. This leads to the extremes of either silencing arguments in the name of tolerance, or fomenting violent hatred for those who disagree with us. We must also resist the pressure to pit one religion or race against another; this was an attack by Islamic extremists against Jews, and yet a Syrian Muslim refugee intervened, disarming one attacker while being shot himself.

Religious freedom is the opposite of hatred, suppression and division. It promotes free, open disagreement which is exactly what keeps a pluralist nation civil.

This does not guarantee a world without evil, but it helps build one where evil finds fewer cracks to exploit.

Bondi Attack Memorial Service

There will be an official public memorial service on today, Wednesday 17th at 7:15 pm on the forecourt in front of St Mary’s Cathedral.

The Prime Minister and Premier will be speaking, as will Archbishop Fisher and Rabbi Elton, accompanied by many senior faith leaders.

All are welcome to come along in prayer, solidarity and support.

Please join me in prayers for the Jewish community and everyone impacted by this tragedy.

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Republished with thanks to Freedom for Faith. Images via Wikimedia Commons.