Bondi royal commission live updates: Jewish Australians share harrowing lived experiences of anti-Semitism
Jewish Australians are sharing their harrowing lived experiences of anti-Semitism within the country as part of the royal commission into the Bondi terror attack.
Scroll down for the latest news and updates.
Key events
04 May 2026 - 02:49 PM
‘We were preparing for a mass casualty event’
04 May 2026 - 02:42 PM
Holocaust survivor re-traumatised by Australian anti-Semitism
04 May 2026 - 02:31 PM
‘They cannot break your spirit’
04 May 2026 - 02:23 PM
Closing comments from Mr Halas
04 May 2026 - 02:22 PM
Jewish people ‘scaredd to come forward’: Halas
04 May 2026 - 02:11 PM
Anti-Semitism started to accelerate during COVID
04 May 2026 - 02:07 PM
Anthony Halas is called as next witness
04 May 2026 - 02:05 PM
Closing statement from Mr Halasz
04 May 2026 - 02:02 PM
Reaction to October 7 attack like a ‘physical blow’
04 May 2026 - 01:46 PM
Anti-Semitism didn’t disappear with the nazis: Halasz
04 May 2026 - 01:35 PM
Mr Raphael reveals Bondi trauma
04 May 2026 - 01:30 PM
‘Why do people want to put swastikas on the front of a synagogue?’
04 May 2026 - 01:24 PM
Mr Raphael describes shocking anti-Semitic assault at university
04 May 2026 - 01:15 PM
Rabbi Benjamin’s closing statement
04 May 2026 - 01:08 PM
Congregants don’t tell Uber drivers where they’re going: Rabbi Benjamin
04 May 2026 - 01:02 PM
Rabbi Benjamin describes series of verbal and physical assaults
04 May 2026 - 12:56 PM
How anti-Zionism becomes anti-Semitism
04 May 2026 - 12:48 PM
The way forward is education and consequences: Ryvchin
04 May 2026 - 12:45 PM
Lack of consequence normalises anti-Semitic behaviour: Ryvchin
04 May 2026 - 12:42 PM
Bondi ‘broke my heart’: Ryvchin
04 May 2026 - 12:34 PM
‘I knew sooner or later someone was going to be dead’: Ryvchin
04 May 2026 - 12:30 PM
Ryvchin describes discovering his former home had been targeted
04 May 2026 - 12:28 PM
Australian anti-Semitism is ‘soaring’: Ryvchin
04 May 2026 - 12:22 PM
We’re now hearing from Alex Ryvchin
04 May 2026 - 12:19 PM
‘I just want our children to feel safe’: Schwartz
04 May 2026 - 12:17 PM
How anti-Semitism impacted interfaith program
04 May 2026 - 12:10 PM
Impact of graffiti attack on Mount Sinai College
04 May 2026 - 11:04 AM
Jewish college president reveals extent of security measures
04 May 2026 - 10:54 AM
Ben describes normalisation of security at Jewish events
04 May 2026 - 10:45 AM
Ben shares experience of army reserve colleagues making anti-Semitic jokes
04 May 2026 - 10:40 AM
Ben shares horrific family bashing story
04 May 2026 - 10:35 AM
AAM says ‘devastated and depleted’ Jewish families are leaving Australia
04 May 2026 - 10:14 AM
AAM describes anti-Semitic attack on kids’ school
04 May 2026 - 10:09 AM
‘How did we get here?’
04 May 2026 - 10:05 AM
AAM describes terrifying night at Melbourne synagogue
04 May 2026 - 09:50 AM
AAL describes ‘disturbing and shocking’ school incident
04 May 2026 - 09:44 AM
AAL describes ‘mad chaos’ at Oct 9 protests
04 May 2026 - 09:37 AM
AAK says Australian Jews need others to listen to them
04 May 2026 - 09:31 AM
AAK describes ‘uncomfortable’ scenes at post-October 7 protest in Sydney
04 May 2026 - 09:15 AM
Jewish Australian ‘genuinely terrified’ by anti-Semitism
04 May 2026 - 08:38 AM
Iran responds to Trump's Project Freedom’
04 May 2026 - 07:14 AM
Government won’t extend fuel excise cut beyond June in Budget
04 May 2026 - 06:59 AM
Trump posts ‘I HAVE ALL THE CARDS’ as meme war rages
04 May 2026 - 06:49 AM
Wong pushes China fuel talks as Hormuz tensions escalate
04 May 2026 - 06:32 AM
Trump keeps pressure on Iran as peace deal doubts grow
04 May 2026 - 06:10 AM
Iran tensions surge as Trump launches ‘Project Freedom’
Commission adjourned
Dr Engelman’s testimony has concluded.
That wraps up the hearing for the day.
‘We were preparing for a mass casualty event’
Dr Engelman is the co-founder of the Community Health Support Charity.
He says people were scared after the Bankstown hospital incident to go to public hospitals.
He also says the group was preparing for a mass casualty event post-October 7.
He says demand for emergency m,edical training has risen dramatically since December 14.
Holocaust survivor re-traumatised by Australian anti-Semitism
Dr Engelman says he never truly felt anti-Semitism until after the events of October 7.
“She saw hatred, she saw vitriol, she saw people attacking the Jewish people without any provocation,” he says.
She became concerrned about the welfare of the wider Jewish community, he says.
This re-traumatised his mother and provoked “many more sleepless nights”.
Yvonne Engelman’s son speaks
Dr Jeffrey Engelman is the final witness for the day.
He says his father was also a survivor of Auschwitz.
Dr Engelman says both his parents were “very proud Australians”.
They were both involved in the establishment of the Sydney Jewish Museum.
He says two weeks before his mother died, at the age of 97, she was still educating students about the holocaust.
‘They cannot break your spirit’
Mrs Engelman says she arrived at Auschwitz with her parents as a child and was “roughly” separated from her parents.
That was the last time she saw them. She found out later they were taken straight to the gas chambers.
The children were made to shave their heads and were also sent to the gas chambers.
But by a miracle, the gas wasn’t effective.
In the morning they were put to work.
She said the way the guards treated the victims was horrific.
“The hatred. You have no idea,” she says.
“They can do anything to you but they cannot break your spirit. They never succeeded to break my spirit.”
She says with the passage of time, she knows she is the victor. She survived and now has four generations of Australians to her name.
Holocaust survivor tells of devastating ordeal via video statement
The court is now seeing a video testimony from the late Yvonne Engelman.
She is a holocaust survivor telling her story.
Her son Jeffrey will be the last speaker for the day.
Closing comments from Mr Halas
Mr Halas says his greatest fear if the current trajectory continues is that if the country is not safe for his children or their children then “we will have to leave”.
He asked the royal commission to help fight for this outcome.
Jewish people ‘scaredd to come forward’: Halas
Mr Halas is the director of the Jewish Centre for Law and Justice.
He says that a lot of Jewish people are afraid to come forward to the royal commission.
He’s telling a story about a board member at a company he worked with complaining about being “sick of white Jewish power”.
The comments were made during a discussion about the October 7 attacks, when a staff member at the company was describing how they had impacted her family.
The board member resigned a few days later.
Anti-Semitism started to accelerate during COVID
Mr Halas says he had a “wonderful childhood” and experienced very little anti-Semitism growing up.
He says he started to see anti-Semitism grow during COVID, when far right groups would circulate conspiracy theories that Israel was responsible for COVID.
He says on the left, he saw a new movement of “being a good person” being equated with opposing Israel.
Anthony Halas is called as next witness
Mr Halas is Peter Halasz’ son.
He says he has applied for his Hungarian citizenship as a “plan B” in case things “don’t improve” in Australia.
“Who would have thought that Hungary would be seen as a safe alternative,” he says.
