15 Dec 2025 11:15
Sheltering in Place in Sydney: What AJC's Moshe Lencer Witnessed at Bondi Beach the Day After an Antisemitic Massacre
AJC Director of Campus Affairs Moshe Lencer was on his first visit to Australia when the unimaginable happened. Hours after he enjoyed the sun at Sydney's Bondi Beach, it became the site of an antisemitic terrorist attack, leaving 15 people, including a child and a Holocaust survivor, dead.
Moshe recounts attending a student leadership shabbaton, in partnership with Australia's Union for Jewish Students (AUJS), and the immediate aftermath on the ground—a mix of helplessness and resolve—and the powerful scene at Bondi Beach the following day, as Jews and non-Jews gathered to mourn and show solidarity.
Reflecting on the rise of antisemitism in Australia, Moshe—speaking as an outsider to the community—underscores the guiding principle of Australian Jews at this moment: "If we stop celebrating Jewish identity, it means they won."
Read Full Transcript: https://www.ajc.org/news/podcast/ajcs-asia-pacific-institute-on-how-australias-government-ignored-the-warning-signs-before
Resources:
-What To Know About the Antisemitic Terror Attack in Sydney
-Take action: Urgent: Confirm U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism
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Transcript of the Interview:
Manya Brachear Pashman:
As the sun began to set in Australia on Sunday, more than 1000 gathered on Bondi Beach in Sydney to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah by the Sea, but at about 6p m, terrorists fired into the crowd, killing at least 15 and wounding dozens more. Students with the Australasian union of Jewish students had just wrapped up a Shaba tone before they headed to Bondi Beach and our own AJC, Director of Campus affairs, Moshe Lencer, whom we affectionately call Moosh, was there with him shortly before the attack, and he's with us now. Moosh, welcome to people of the pod.
Moshe Lencer:
Thank you for having me.
Manya Brachear Pashman:
Well, I wish it were under very different circumstances. How are you doing and how are the students doing that you are spending time with there?
Moshe Lencer:
It's a wonderful question, and the more I think about it, the less I have a clear answer. It's a combination of helplessness, and in the same time, desire towards hope and trying to figure how to move through this very dark time. The last 24 hours, a little bit more than that have been very interesting is this has been my first time ever in Australia. I landed here Friday morning. Right now, for context, it's Monday night, and until about 6pm on Sunday, it was a very pleasant, positive experience, filled with moments of Jewish pri
