JEWISH JOURNAL
What Bondi Beach Taught Us About Courage — and Should Teach Us About Preparedness
Micha Danzig
December 16, 2025

…Boris Gurman was celebrating Hanukkah with his wife, Sofia, among hundreds of Jewish Australians and visitors who had gathered to light candles by the sea — an ancient ritual of Jewish continuity performed openly, peacefully, and in public. When the gunmen appeared, Boris did what generations of unarmed Jews have done when history suddenly demands courage: he moved toward the threat…But Boris was almost certainly not trained for combat. He did not — or could not — pull the trigger. In that moment, one of the terrorists shot him. He was mortally wounded, with his wife Sofia at his side, after the two of them had jointly attempted to stop the attack. READ MORE

NBC NEWS Video shows elderly couple trying to stop and disarm Bondi gunman The dashcam video shows a couple who were killed in the attack, identified by their family as Boris and Sofia Gurman, both in their 60s.

FRONT PAGE MAG Bondi Beach: ‘Never Again’ Was an Empty Phrase…For two years now, since Hamas launched its latest war, a wave of anti-Jewish hate has swept through the West. The warning signs have been flashing: in Australia, anti-Jewish incidents tripled in the year after the war began. Similar spikes have occurred across Europe and the USA. Swastikas on schools. Mobs chanting for intifada. Jewish students hiding their Stars of David. It has been escalating steadily. Now the inevitable has happened  again – the hate has turned murderous. We know precisely who helped create this atmosphere. I am looking at everyone who fed this beast. Every single one of them has blood on their hands. Everyone who spent two years spreading antisemitic blood libels straight from Hamas — blood on their hands. (They parroted every lie Hamas spewed, from fake “hospital massacres” to wild casualty figures. They stoked the flames that led directly to Bondi and beyond)

BAKING BUSINESS Avner’s Announces Closure. Sydney-based bakery Avner’s has announced its closure following almost two years of ongoing vandalism, intimidation and and antisemitic harassment. The Surry Hills bakery, which is owned and run by media personality and chef Ed Halmagyi, opened its doors in early 2024. In a note on the bakery’s doors the business announced its closure. “One thing has become clear after Sunday’s attack [at Bondi] – it’s no longer possible to make outwardly, publicly, proudly Jewish places and events safe in Australia,” the note read.