Jewish community reacts to Bondi Beach attack

For more on the deadly mass shooting in Australia over the weekend, I want to bring in Jonathan Greenblatt. He is the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. And he's been on our air many, many times before. And sadly, tragically, Jonathan, it's often around incidents like this that you and I are chatting. And with Hanukkah underway, I want to-- before we talk about what happened at Bondi Beach, I want for you to share your message, not just to Jewish people in the United States, but all around the world, and even for those who see what is happening and cannot understand it and wish that it were not so. Well, look, Vlad, you're right. We've been on together multiple times around tragedies, and it's devastating to think that we are here yet again. And the murder, the slaughter in Bondi Beach was so horrific. On the first night of Hanukkah, 15 people killed, a rabbi, 41 years old, a father of five, multiple grandparents, including a Holocaust survivor, a 10-year-old girl. I think for Jewish people today, in this moment, around the world, there is a sense of sadness, but also, what struck me is the sense of solidarity. I've been in touch continuously with the community on the ground in Sydney and Melbourne since the tragedy. And there's this sense, Vlad, that we're all part of the same family. I mean, we've seen attacks around Jewish holy days. There's certainly been many attacks in Israel. There was a terrible terror attack on a Passover Seder in Tel Aviv years ago. More recently, this year, we had an attack in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur. Years ago, we had one in-- another Yom Kippur attack in Germany. And of course, here in the United States, we've seen it. So all of us feel a sense of siege, and yet, we all also feel a sense of strength, that we're not going to allow ourselves to be intimidated or terrorized by those that want to do us harm.

Earlier on CBSMornings, two survivors from the attack on Bondi Beach said that they didn't feel-- that they didn't feel that they were in any danger before the shooting started. I want to play some of that. 15 minutes before it all happened-- When we're actually on our way driving to the event, we were coming down the road towards Bondi--

All right. --and we could see where the event was, and-- There were only two policemen there. I didn't feel safe. I said to him, I don't feel safe. I think Jews in many communities around the world understand exactly what you mean with that question. But for people outside the community, why does that kind of concern come to mind? It's just-- It's-- --what our government has done in this country, this happened-- this started, this happened-- He's got blood on his hands.

--on October--

And he knows it. The acts of terrorism have been rewarded by the Australian weak government. I mean, Jonathan, it is striking to me that throughout the course of modern civilization, but even ancient civilization, when we see rising antisemitism, when we see language used around Jewish people, the dehumanization of Jews, it might start out small, but ultimately, we find ourselves time and time and time again facing situations like this. So what are leaders to do? You hear leaders. They express solidarity. They say, never again. And yet, here we are once again. Yeah, look, I mean, I think what the guests spoke about this morning earlier on CBS, they're 100% right. This isn't an isolated incident. It's tragic. And yet, it's entirely predictable because it's a result of this normalized, escalating, hateful anti-Jewish rhetoric and the way that people have been allowed to inflame the environment, to incite violence. We've seen it in Australia. We've seen it worldwide. And as noted, in Australia specifically-- again, last week was the one-year anniversary of the firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne. We had acts of vandalism against Jewish businesses. We've had open incitement against Jewish people. And I think it's fair to say, here in the United States, Vlad, again, we've talked about, every synagogue, every Jewish institution in America has bulletproof glass, armed guards, security protocols. There's a reason for that. And I don't think you can find another sort of type of religious institution or school or community center that is equipped in this way. It shouldn't be that in 2025, being Jewish puts a target on your back. It is inhumane that people are identified by the way they worship or where they're from and singled out for violence. So we need leaders to lead. That means when incitement happens, it needs to be shut down immediately, not played off or dismissed as just political rhetoric. We're all entitled to free speech, but freedom of expression isn't the freedom to incite violence against a small minority of people.

Yeah. To your point, Jonathan, this is-- it's almost as if, as you know, when things happen that may seem innocuous, when jokes are made, in Nazi Germany before 1933, in cabarets and academic papers, the Dreyfus affair, in the 1920s here in the United States with Henry Ford and some of the pamphlets he distributed. When it becomes respectable to do that, we end up in a situation that we are in today. So what is your message to Jews on how they should feel and how they can be safe in this environment? Well, so I think there are a few things. I think, number one, just to pull the thread on what you said, you're exactly right-- when it becomes respectable, when podcasters and politicians are casting aspersions and making wild claims. We need people in positions of authority to call it out, in particular, in our politicized environment, Vlad, people on the right, as we've seen, people like Senator Ted Cruz or Senator Lindsey Graham. We need people to call out when it happens on their side. So whether it's toxic anti-Judaism from the far-right or toxic anti-Zionism from the radical left, we need people to step up and speak out when they see it happen. That's number one. But number two, for Jewish people, Vlad, this may surprise you, but you know what my response is? For Jewish people in this moment, I think the best thing that we can do is to be more Jewish, to celebrate, to sing, to light our menorahs, and to worship openly and freely, again, not to allow ourselves to be intimidated. But I think in these moments, we need to lean in, not lean back, to be proud, not to be timid, and to show, whether you're affiliated with ISIS-- really, any of these groups-- and say, hey, not now, not on our watch, never again. We're here, and we're not going anywhere. Jonathan Greenblatt, Chag Sameach Hanukkah, and Chag Hanukkah Sameach. I hope I said it right [LAUGHS] to you-- Vlad, I'm impressed. [LAUGHS] --to you and your family. Thank you very much, my friend. Appreciate you as always. Always good to see you.

Thank you.