An act of terror took the lives of 15 people at Bondi. Their names, stories and legacies are held close by a shaken, grieving community.<\/p>\n
Ms Gordon, along with other mental health professionals, has been volunteering her time to help the Jewish community after Sunday’s attack.<\/p>\n
“That’s very typical of our community \u2026 members are coming together in extraordinary ways to support one another.”<\/p>\n
She says many people just want their experiences to be acknowledged and validated.<\/p>\n
Mr Hall says after public violence, many people experience, at least in a temporary sense, “a loss of the world as we understood it”.<\/p>\n
“Not just losses of particular deaths, but that sense of normalcy, predictability \u2014 what can I trust?”<\/p>\n
Acknowledging that you or people around you might be feeling that way is important, he says.<\/p>\n
Responding with ‘love and unity’<\/p>\n
Max Kaiser, executive officer at the Jewish Council of Australia, says the community is “shattered” and people need to come together to support one another.<\/p>\n
“We need a collective community response to these horrific events.”<\/p>\n
Dr Kaiser says the council has received countless messages of love and support.<\/p>\n
“All of us have been receiving texts from friends, family, acquaintances \u2026 people we don’t know that well.<\/p>\n
“And it’s been from across all communities: Christian, Muslim, Palestinian and Arab communities especially have reached out, because they are some of our key allies over the past couple of years.”<\/p>\n
He says reaching out to people to say you are thinking of them is a small but powerful way to show you care.<\/p>\n
Dr Kaiser urges people to respond with “love, and solidarity and unity”.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately we are already seeing people use this to stir up more hate and push divisiveness.<\/p>\n
“We really need people to understand that racism can’t be solved with more racism.”<\/p>\n
Ms Gordon says the outpouring of support from non-Jewish people has been “extraordinary”.<\/p>\n
“We have felt amazing support,” she says.<\/p>\n
“Stand up against antisemitism \u2026 go and say something kind to your neighbour who is from a different background.”<\/p>\n
Practical ways to help<\/p>\n
Dr Kaiser says people have been showing up in more practical ways, too, including donating blood.<\/p>\n
If you’re feeling distressed following the Bondi attacks, you’re not alone<\/a><\/p>\n The images and descriptions of the Bondi Beach shooting attack are confronting, and having an emotional reaction is normal, experts say.<\/p>\n Red Cross’s Lifeblood Service says the response to its call for donations has been the biggest<\/a> since the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.<\/p>\n “I also know a few different organisations are calling on people to put a candle in their window,” Dr Kaiser says.<\/p>\n “That is also something that is really meaningful.”<\/p>\n Mr Hall from Grief Australia says attending vigils and donating to charities or fundraisers like that for bystander Ahmed Al Ahmed, who tackled and disarmed one of the Bondi Beach attackers<\/a>, can fulfill a desire to be helpful.<\/p>\n “It might be checking in on Jewish friends or colleagues. Without asking to educate or explain, just to simply say, ‘I am thinking of you’. ‘I’m here if you would like company.'”<\/p>\n While it might not seem like much, sending a message letting someone know you are thinking of them can mean a lot. (Adobe Stock)<\/p>\n Local acts of care such as volunteering can support our grief and reduce “compulsive rumination”, Mr Hall says.<\/p>\n Ms Gordon says supporting the Jewish community is “all about connection”.<\/p>\n ‘Genuinely connect with people’<\/p>\n That connection can come across cultures.<\/p>\n Imam Ahmed Abdo is the chairman of the Council of Imams NSW and vice president of the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC).<\/p>\n He says communities need to “put labels aside”, and “be here for each other”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n