This evening was meant to be an ordinary Thursday, illuminated by the presence of 15 vibrant lives, but everything shifted on December 14.

“For that, I apologize,” he expressed, receiving applause from those assembled at the Opera House for a vigil.

“We hold dear the belief that our nation is a place of safety. Unfortunately, that assurance was shattered.

“You came to partake in a celebration of light and liberty, yet encountered the darkness of hatred.

“I am profoundly sorry that we were unable to shield your loved ones from such malevolence.

“We unite here this evening, brought together in a symbol of Australia, to grieve the tragedy that struck another landmark.”

Silence fell across Australia at 7.01pm in a powerful moment of mourning and show of solidarity with the Jewish community.

A national day of mourning culminated tonight with a service at the Sydney Opera House, echoed with light at 14 other buildings around the country.

The moving event included the lighting of 15 candles to remember those slain at the Hanukkah by the Sea festival on December 14 and addresses by members of the Jewish community and political leaders.

The Sydney Opera House was flooded in white light to honour the victims after the national flag flew at half-mast at all federal government and NSW government buildings out of respect for the grief over the 15 people killed in the attack.

Constable Scott Dyson and probationary Constable Jack Hibbert made their first public appearance after being injured responding to the attack.

Bondi hero Ahmed Al Ahmed and NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna joined representatives from each of the families who lost loved ones to light a candle on stage.

Another 14 buildings around the country, including the Bondi Pavilion, will also be lit up in white light to honour the victims.

The theme of today, chosen by the Chabad Community in Bondi, whose Hanukkah event was targeted in the attack, is “Light will win, a gathering of unity and remembrance”.

Albanese apologises

Wearing a yarmulke and a black suit, Albanese said Australians’ hearts were “collectively shattered” at a place that should be a “part of our promise to the world, a welcoming embrace”.

“The attack was anything but random. Jewish Australians were targeted because they were Jewish.

“Let me say this clearly: An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on all Australians.

“It was an atrocity perpetrated in the heart of this city, in a place that dwells in the very heart of our identity.”

The prime minister said it was “cruelty beyond measure” for those who’d “carried such a burden of suffering across generations” to suffer so much grief  but paid tribute not just to those who’d been lost but to the strength of the Australian Jewish community.

“Those who attacked you did not count on your spirit,” he said.

“In the weeks since the world was upended, you have not retreated. You have not hidden away in fear. Instead, you have shown profound strength.

“You inspired a movement that has swept across this country.”

A voice could be heard booing amid the applause when Albanese, who was roundly booed at an earlier vigil, took the stage, but he was repeatedly applauded throughout his address. 

Sydney rabbi Yehoram Ulman praised the bipartisanship he’d seen in Canberra in the past week and thanked Albanese for apologising.

“I have buried dear friends and mourned the loss of my own son-in-law, I believe I speak for many when I say we have felt an emptiness so heavy it could crush us,” he said.

“But in that void, something else appeared, something miraculous.

“These 30 days, I have witnessed an awakening in a country like I have never seen before.

“I have seen an Australia that did not just watch the news, but stood up to change the story.”

Minns calls for Australia to fight hate

NSW Premier Chris Minns said it was a “bitter reality” to realise Australia was not immune to such a “dark and evil crime”.

He said many had questioned whether the country could live up to its promise of accepting anyone and have them live side-by-side in peace, safety and freedom to live their life and practise their religion.

“But the story of Hanukkah is not that darkness doesn’t exist, but rather that it can be extinguished with light,” he said.

“Scripture tells us that we can defeat evil, but crucially, not by doing nothing. We need to light the candle. 

“So the message tonight is and it must be that Australia can live up to that original promise, but we must take action, and indeed we must change.

“I think we start with fighting hate wherever we see it. Racism, antisemitism, it’s corrosive to our community and it’s everyone’s responsibility to stand up against it.

“Tonight, we gather in our most important building to bring out the best in Australia.”

Opera House ‘reclaimed’

Minns, who was loudly applauded and cheered when he took the stage and throughout his speech, said those gathered had “reclaimed” the Opera House, just like they did for Bondi Beach.

“Friends … can I say that’s exactly what the Opera House is for,” he said.

“Not a place of hate with loudspeakers and racism with flares and hateful symbols, but a location of peace and unity. 

“Tonight, we gather in our most important building to bring out the best in Australia.”

Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley echoed Minns’ sentiments about the Opera House.

“In October 2023, the worst of Australia tried to co-opt this iconic building as a backdrop for hate, as a prop for inciting violence and glorifying terrorism,” she said.

“Tonight, how good it is in January 2026 that we take back the Opera House.”

Ley also paid tribute to the “15 lights that must never go out” and praised the “extraordinary humanity” of ordinary Australians who rushed to protect strangers.

Prayers and tributes for the slain

Chabad NSW head Rabbi Pinchus Feldman earlier called on those listening to recognise the dignity of every human being and find strength in Noah’s seven laws underpinning Judaism.

“In deep mourning, yet with a steadfast spirit, we pray for the triumph of light over darkness,” he said.

“As the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

“May he who makes peace in the heavens, the almighty God, bring peace to Australia, to Israel and to all of humanity.”

Four sons who lost their fathers in the attack — Nossen Schlanger, son of Rabbi Eli Schlanger; Shlomo Levitan, son of Reb Yaakov Levitan; Yaakov Tetleroyd, son of Boris Tetleroyd; Tzvi Kleytman, son of Alex Kleytman; and Zev Weitzen, son of Tibor Weitzen — recited the Mourner’s Kaddish.

Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff, a young Texan who was shot in the abdomen and thigh while volunteering at the event, was said to have been released from hospital just four hours before taking to the stage to play the piano and sing.

Throughout the evening, more than a dozen moving tribute videos were played, sharing intimate and touching details of the lives lived before they were cruelly snatched away on December 14.

Ya’akov Tetleroyd, still lying in his hospital bed, remembered his father, Boris, a smiling man who everybody loved, the man who taught him to ride a bike and who would randomly burst into song.

“I was always just amazed how he was able to fix everything,” Ya’akov said.

“Whatever was going on in my life. He was able to find a solution for it.”

Tributes across the country

National institutions in Canberra, NSW and other parts of the country were being illuminated today as a symbol of light, a commemorative installation, 15 Pillars of Light, was in place in Canberra and around the country.

Candles were handed out in Martin Place to be lit tonight in windows across Sydney. 

“I think it’s an opportunity to reflect on the victims, but also the contribution they made to our country,” Minns said.

The premier visited a Jewish Care centre in Woollahra, meeting with Rabbi Mendel Kastel and his son, who witnessed the attack.

“He was actually there. It was a very difficult time,” Rabbi Mendel Kastel said.

“For a little while, we couldn’t find him.”

Throughout the day, the shared sentiment was that this must be a turning point.

”We need to remember those who’ve lost their lives and may their memories be a blessing,” NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said. 

“The bigger mountain to climb is making sure this never, ever happens again.”

St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Melbourne marked the day with a multi-faith vigil.

Flags across Adelaide flew at half-mast across the city.

In Perth, a service at St George’s Cathedral offered prayers for the fallen, while this afternoon at St Mary’s in Sydney, a special mass acknowledged the 15 souls lost in December.