“With broken hearts and crying spirit inside, we continued to celebrate. We danced, we celebrated …
“We felt this is a time we need to strengthen ourselves, and we need to strengthen our resolve. And as difficult as it was, there was a very strong spirit.”
Jaffe is grieving friends and community members killed in the Bondi attack, but was touched when he arrived at the synagogue on Monday morning to find flowers left on the front gates.
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Two terrorists – a father and son – opened fire at a Hanukkah by the Sea celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing 16 people, including a 10-year-old girl, in Australia’s worst mass shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. A further 40 people were injured, including four children.
Red Cross Lifeblood has transported blood from Brisbane to Sydney hospitals for victims of the attack. But more blood is needed.
The service is calling on Brisbane residents of all blood types to donate blood if they can on Monday, and over the coming days and weeks during the Christmas holiday period.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and his family attended the Brisbane Hanukkah event, as did Queensland MP Charis Mullen.
“Tonight my family and I joined Brisbane’s Jewish community on the first night of Hanukkah. This afternoon’s shocking attack during a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration is horrific and distressing,” Schrinner said in statement on Sunday night.
Premier David Crisafulli said he had contacted Jewish community leaders to offer his prayers and support, in what will be difficult days and weeks ahead.
Queensland’s security cabinet convened on Monday morning, and Crisafulli was due to join a national security cabinet later in the day.
The lights were dimmed on the Story, Kangaroo Point and Victoria bridges to acknowledge the tragedy.
People placed flowers on the fence of the Brisbane Synagogue on Monday morning in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community.Credit: Julius Dennis
Tensions, however, rose outside Brisbane’s synagogue on Monday morning, where people laid brightly coloured flowers in solidarity with the Bondi victims.
A truck driver delivering goods to a neighbouring worksite took issue with being asked by Jaffe’s son to move his vehicle away from the place of worship.
“For security reasons, we have to be very, very careful and conscious about people that park their cars outside the synagogue, and my son simply asked the driver … whether he had some kind of permit,” Jaffe said.
“The driver, for whatever reason, wasn’t very happy to get that kind of question. It’s unfortunate that this happened this morning, but it was just a little incident.”
A delivery truck driver clashing with people from the synagogue.Credit: Julius Dennis
The entire confrontation happened in front of watching media, with the driver at one stage coming over to speak to the cameras, claiming he was being criticised and humiliated for doing his job.
Despite Queensland police releasing a statement on Sunday night that there would be heightened security at Jewish places of worship, there were no officers at the scene for at least 15 minutes.
Police arrived at about 7.30am and asked the man to leave after taking his details. Credit: Julius Dennis
Officers arrived just before 7.30am and spoke to the man before asking him to leave.
Jaffe was concerned people would, understandably, stay away from the synagogue on Monday morning.
But he said worshippers arrived with “incredible spirit” to continue marking Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of light.
“It was so heartwarming. I actually said to the people, ‘what you’re doing, is you’re really living the Hanukkah spirit by being here today … in not allowing this event to affect our way of life and our beliefs’,” he said.
“I’m talking to you from a broken heart … [but] it is our firm belief that goodness will prevail.”
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