News is still coming in from the horrifying attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, where two men fired at crowds of peaceful Jews celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. As of press time, 15 victims plus one of the shooters are reported dead, and 27 people were in the hospital.
The attack fell like a thunderbolt on the country’s tightly knit Jewish community. Leaders had long been concerned about episodes of Jew-hatred in Australia, indulged at times there as here by politicians willing to scour the sewers in search of votes. But there is no escaping the ugly truth now. Australian Jews are on the front lines in a pitiless war.