‘Failed as a parent’: Antisemitism royal commission hears from Jewish families after Bondi attack

Leslie Berger, the former president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and a father of three, has told the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion how his family reacted while the Bondi terror attack unfolded in their city.

Speaking in front of the inquiry, Berger shared that his children began feeling unsafe and uncomfortable in their own home after a swastika was graffitied on their back fence in December 2024.

During the Bondi terror attack, when gunmen opened fire on Jewish Australians celebrating Hanukkah and killed 15 people, two of his “children were home alone and they completely panicked”.

“My middle son called his best friend because he was so terrified he didn’t feel safe in our home … I felt that I had failed as a parent,” Berger told the inquiry while in tears.

The Bondi terror attack and its aftermath have continued to ripple across the country, from the streets to the parliament.

Now, with a Commonwealth royal commission focusing on antisemitism and social cohesion currently underway, several other faith leaders and heads of Jewish schools have given evidence — largely focusing on the significant security arrangements they’ve made in the wake of rising antisemitism since 7 October, the rise in online hate speech and the barriers to regulating and policing online platforms.

Read more: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australia-faces-unprecedented-levels-of-online-hate-speech-hears-antisemitism-inquiry/bhi1epboz https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australia-faces-unprecedented-levels-of-online-hate-speech-hears-antisemitism-inquiry/bhi1epboz

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