Families mourning the loss of their loved ones in the tragic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach have taken a bold step by addressing an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, urging him to initiate a royal commission.
Despite growing pressure, the Prime Minister has thus far resisted calls to establish a national inquiry into the devastating events of December 14. On that day, Sajid and Naveed Akram allegedly unleashed gunfire on a Hanukkah celebration, resulting in the tragic deaths of 15 innocent people.
Seeking justice and accountability, the relatives of 11 victims have united to compose a scathing letter directed at Albanese, holding his administration responsible for the rising tide of anti-Semitism within Australia.
The signatories of the letter include the families of both the youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda, and the oldest, Alex Kleytman, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.
Joining them are the grieving families of Sofia and Boris Gurman, along with those of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Reuven Morrison, Edith Brutman, Tibor Weitzen, Yaakov Levitan, Tania Tretiak, and Boris Tetleroyd.
The heartfelt message conveyed in the letter is unequivocal: ‘You owe us answers. You owe us accountability. And you owe Australians the truth.’
‘We demand answers and solutions. We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how anti-Semitic hatred and Islamic extremism were allowed to grow dangerously unchecked and what changes must be made to protect all Australians going forward.’
The families argued that Jewish Australians now live in fear in the wake of the terrorist attack.
The families of the youngest and oldest victims – 10-year-old Matilda (left) and Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, 87, (right), are among those who have joined forces to write to Anthony Albanese
Sofia and Boris Gurman (pictured) were also killed when they tried to disarm one of the alleged gunmen
‘Our children feel unsafe at school and university. Our homes, workplaces, sporting fields, and public spaces no longer feel secure. It is an intolerable situation that no Australian should have to endure,’ the letter reads.
‘The rise of anti-Semitism in Australia goes far beyond one state jurisdiction. It is a national crisis that demands a powerful national response.
‘The dangerous rise of anti-Semitism and radicalism in Australia is not going away.
‘This threat is real and it is escalating.’
Mr Morrison’s daughter Sheina Gutnick told Sunrise on Monday it was important for the families to band together and speak up.
‘My father was murdered, leaving behind his wife, daughter and grandchildren. Matilda was murdered. Eli Schlanger was murdered leaving behind five children, including a six-week-old baby,’ she said.
‘So many families ripped apart with grandparents, parents, children just taken from their families.
‘This is something that impacts all of us here in Australia.’
Reuven Morrison’s daughter Sheina Gutnick said it was important for the victims’ families to band together and write to Albanese calling for a royal commission
Grieving families have banded together demanding Anthony Albanese to urgently establish a royal commission, including the loved ones of Tania Tretiak
Edith Brutman
‘We know that this is something that didn’t happen on its own.
‘It didn’t happen in a vacuum. This is something that has been growing and festering here in Australia for two and half years.’
Ms Gutnick acknowledged that a royal commission would take time.
‘As long as it takes,’ she said.
‘It’s something that absolutely must be done.
‘We need answers.
‘We need to understand how this occurred and we need to ensure that this cannot happen again. Lives are lost and we need to ensure that no more will be.’
Despite growing calls from prominent Australians, and even from within his own party, Albanese has so far refused to establish a royal commission.
Pressure is mounting on Anthony Albanese to establish a royal commission
‘I just note that there was no royal commission called by the Howard government after Port Arthur,’ he told reporters last week.
‘There was no royal commission called by the Abbott government after the Lindt siege.
‘We provided, on both those occasions as the opposition … support for national unity at that time.’
NSW Premier Chris Minns also backed a federal royal commission and will set up a state-based inquiry.
Former Australian Police Chief Mick Keelty is the latest to call for a royal commission, arguing that ‘anything less risks telling Australians that some truths are too difficult to face’.
‘Bondi will not simply raise questions of intelligence failures, administrative arrangements, or resources. Deeper questions must be asked, in public, of officials and their political masters,’ he wrote in The Australian.
‘We need to know whether part of the problem is a failure of understanding or, worse, deliberate decisions to ignore uncomfortable truths.’
