Daughter of Bondi Beach terror attack victim hopes for social cohesion as royal commission public hearings begin
Updated . First published at
The daughter of Bondi Beach terror attack victim Reuven Morrison is hoping for real change in Australia as the public hearings in the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion begin.
Sheina Gutnick appeared as the first witness today for the royal commission, which was established in response to the December Bondi Beach terror attack.
Gutnick told the commission that, a year before the horror mass shooting, she was walking through Westfield Bondi Junction with her baby when a man pointed at her Star of David necklace and called her a "f---ing terrorist".
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Sheina Gutnick appeared as the first witness in a series of public hearings that began today. 9News
"I felt shocked, exposed and unsafe," she said.
"There were many people around me, but no one intervened."
Gutnick told the commission the experience limited her willingness to move around in some public spaces.
Her 62-year-old father, Reuven Morrison, was killed after hurling a brick at one of the gunmen involved in the attack that killed 15 innocent people.
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Reuven Morrison (centre right) was killed after hurling a brick at one of the gunmen involved in the attack that killed 15 innocent people. 9News
People with a lived experience of antisemitism were invited to take part in the public hearings.
Commissioner Virginia Bell delivered her interim report last Thursday and made 14 recommendations – all of which were accepted by the federal government – on how to respond to anti-Jewish hate and fracturing social cohesion.
The report confirmed that the massacre could not have been prevented and that no legal or regulatory shortcoming contributed to the attack.
The final report is due on December 14 this year.
Outside the royal commission, Gutnick said she felt "deeply grateful" she and the Jewish community had the opportunity to have their voices heard and work towards social cohesion.
"We're sure after all of the evidence is compiled, after all the witnesses have spoken, appropriate recommendations will be given as to how we will be able to live in Australia together, with the rest of Australians," she said.
"It is incredibly important, not just for the commission to understand what has been going on, but for every regular Australian to realise what an impact antisemitism has had on our lives.
"As community members, as parents, what children have to live through on a daily basis, solely because they have been born into the wonderful, beautiful Jewish heritage."
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