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Dear Friend,
As we continue to mourn the lives taken by Sunday’s antisemitic
attack on a Hanukkah gathering in Australia, we wanted to check in and
remind our community of the stories of resilience and solidarity from
that horrific day.
From Ahmed al Ahmed, son of Syrian refugees and a father of two,
who sits in the hospital today after successfully disarming one of the
shooters and saving countless lives, to Reuven Morrison, the 62-year
old Soviet refugee who was killed throwing bricks at a shooter, to the
elderly couple, Boris and Sofia Gurman, who were killed trying to
disarm one of the gunmen.
These stories remind us that in times of great danger to
our Jewish community, people from within and outside our community
have taken and will continue to take risks to keep us
safe.
We see this solidarity in our own country today, by those handing
out whistles to alert immigrants of ICE raids, training bystanders on
how to intervene, and protesting how Trump and MAGA use the fear they
manufacture to take away our rights.
A world where Jews and people of all faiths and backgrounds can
live in safety and prosperity is possible.
To get there, we are joining with our neighbors to build
the largest-ever movement of Jews and allies to free our country from
authoritarianism. Thank you for being a part of it.
You can read and share Bend the Arc’s official statement after the
Hanukkah attack in Australia below and on
our website.
In solidarity,
The Bend the Arc
team
Bend
the Arc's response to the Hanukkah attack in
Australia
We are mourning the lives taken by the antisemitic attack on a
Hanukkah gathering in Australia. The gathering at Bondi Beach was
supposed to be a day of joy, advertised as an event adjacent to a
playground, with face painting, ice cream, and games for children.
Instead, it became the site of unspeakable violence targeting
Jews.
On this first night of and through every night of Hanukkah,
Jews across the world will recount this horror, casting a shadow over
our own celebrations. No one should be made to feel afraid as they
practice their Jewish traditions.
We will be checking in on loved ones. And dreaming of a world
where we and people of all faiths and backgrounds, can live in safety
and prosperity.
But we must not only dream of that world. We must continue to
confront antisemitism with action. Action free from political agendas
and the influence of those who use fear and pain to fuel more hate.
Action instead driven by the ways we know we can end
antisemitism.
We are moved by the heroism and solidarity of those who helped
each other during the monstrous attack, including reports of a fruit
vendor named Ahmed al-Ahmed who was shot while successfully disarming
one of the shooters. Together, we can help to keep each other
safe.
We must confront and disassemble antisemitism at its roots. And
we must do so with the urgency to match its clear and imminent threat
to our Jewish community and all communities targeted by hate and
extremism.
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