Sydney council to light harbour with menorah after open letter
More than 30 Jewish-Australian creatives wrote to Lord Mayor Clover Moore on Monday morning, urging for a "Jewish-specific symbol" to commemorate the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attacks.
The City of Sydney has made last-minute changes to Sydney's New Year's Eve tribute to the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack following an open letter signed by Jewish creatives.
More than 30 Jewish-Australian artistic and cultural figures wrote to Lord Mayor Clover Moore on Monday morning, urging for a "Jewish-specific symbol" to be projected on the pylons of Sydney Harbour Bridge to commemorate the 15 people killed in the Bondi shootings on December 14.
The council had initially planned to illuminate the bridge with an image of a dove and the word "peace" just before 9pm, a gesture made in consultation with the Jewish Board of Deputies.
A menorah was projected onto the Sydney Opera House sails after the Bondi Beach terror attack. (Reuters: Hollie Adams)
The bridge would again be illuminated at 11pm as a minute's silence is observed on the ground and during the ABC's New Year's Eve broadcast.
However, signatories of the open letter, which included Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks, Aria Award winner Deborah Conway, and Archibald Prize winner Yvette Coppersmith, argued the generic symbol of the dove of peace "obfuscates and erases the problem of antisemitism".
"We acknowledge the City of Sydney's plan as a gesture of remembrance, and agree with the need for such a gesture; however, we consider the imagery and word chosen to be insufficient as they do not acknowledge the Jewish particularity of the Bondi massacre," the letter reads.
The signatories claimed their warnings of antisemitism had been dismissed by "generic calls for peace" in the past two years.
"The selection of this word, coupled with the dove, without any specific reference to the targeting of the Jewish community, prolongs our erasure and obfuscates the problem of domestic antisemitism," the letter said.
A makeshift memorial for the Bondi Beach shooting formed at the Bondi Pavillion from December 15. (ABC News: Jade Macmillan)
On Monday afternoon, Ms Moore issued a statement saying the council would continue to listen to the community to ensure the acknowledgement of the Bondi Beach massacre on New Year's Eve was appropriate.
She said one minute of silence will be observed at 11pm, during which the Harbour Bridge will be illuminated in white, with the addition of a menorah projected onto the pylons.