The leader of the Jewish community on the Sunshine Coast says they are “in shock and very shaken” by Sunday’s terror attack in Sydney.
Rabbi Oshy Goodman said the response from the wider Sunshine Coast community after the attack targeting a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach had been overwhelming.
“We’ve had so many calls from people showing their solidarity. Some people were crying. It’s unbelievable,” he said.
Rabbi Goodman’s friend and colleague Rabbi Eli Schlanger was among the 15 people killed.
“He had a friend up here who owned a house and he would come up here to spend time in that home. I would join them, a great friendship was formed, with his children as well,” Rabbi Goodman said.
After living on the Sunshine Coast for four years, Rabbi Goodman said he had never experienced antisemitism in the region. But on a national scale, he believes more could have been done to prevent the tragedy.
“There is quite a bit of resentment, and I think not enough has been done to protect the Jewish people here in Australia,” Rabbi Goodman said.
Footage circulating online captured acts of bravery during the attack, including 43-year-old Ahmed Al Ahmed, who risked his life to wrestle the gunman’s weapon away.
“He’s a real hero,” Rabbi Goodman said. “Hats off to him.”
Rabbi Goodman also called for calm, stressing the importance of unity across faiths.
“There’s plenty of Muslims in Sydney or here who would do anything to save anyone regardless of the faith,” he said.
Mayor Rosanna Natoli said the Sunshine Coast community was shocked and saddened by the events that transpired in Sydney.
“We stand together with our Jewish community to say that this kind of violence, this hatred, this display of absolute antisemitism has no place in our society, no place in our Sunshine Coast community,” she said.
“The Sunshine Coast community is one of warmth and welcome and we are standing with our Jewish community this Hanukkah, as always, to say this violence is completely unacceptable. We will stand in unity.
“As a community, we can send a strong message that we stand with our Jewish community, that we believe in safety, and we believe in freedom.
“It is also our opportunity to show that we are a welcoming and diverse community.
“Here on the Sunshine Coast, we will express kindness, we will express love, and we will express tolerance.
“On behalf of all Sunshine Coast residents, on behalf of our councillors and on behalf of our council, we express our deepest condolences to all of the family and friends of the people affected by this terrible tragedy, and to the Jewish community more broadly.”
An image shared widely online shows Sunshine Coast local Jackson Doolan sprinting barefoot to provide first aid during the attack in Bondi.
“I’m safe and all the lifeguards are safe. Speechless. Well done to everyone involved in helping out,” Mr Doolan shared online.
Mr Doolan relocated from the Sunshine Coast to Sydney in 2016 after securing a full-time role as a Bondi lifesaver, along with a television contract on Bondi Rescue.
Fellow Bondi Rescue lifeguard Andrew Reid took to social media to praise his colleague.
“7pm yesterday in Bondi – lifeguard Jacko running over from Tamarama with medical equipment to back up lifeguards, clubbies, police, ambos and other everyday heroes who tried to save people during yesterday’s horrific attack,” Mr Reid wrote.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what you all had to witness and deal with, but you are all the most incredible people.”
