SYDNEY (AP) — In the first full day of opening since a mass shooting driven by antisemitism killed 15 people at Australia’s famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, thousands of people returned to the waterfront Friday to commemorate the losses and try to heal through a sense of community.
In a hastily organized event, people gathered shoulder to shoulder on Bondi’s pristine crescent of sand and then formed an enormous circle in the ocean in an expression of solidarity among Sydney’s residents and support for the Jewish community.
Police reopened parts of the beach Thursday, sparking a return to one of the country’s beloved landmarks five days after two shooters attacked a Hanukkah celebration at a park near the shore, killing 15 people.
With questions emerging about whether Australian Jews were sufficiently protected from the threat of attack, and fears of a backlash against Muslims, armed police officers stood guard outside synagogues and mosques in Sydney on Friday.
Strangers embraced and wept during the morning commemoration. Some people stood in prayer near fluttering remains of crime scene tape and the shoes abandoned as people fled the horror of the shooting. Those who joined the circle in the ocean observed a minute’s silence for the dead, the wounded and those who rushed into danger to save them.
The calm and comfort of beach life begins to return
Life also began returning to …