Less than 48 hours after the deadly terror attack at a Chanukah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, the Jewish Agency for Israel, together with the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, deployed an expert delegation to support the local Jewish community and assist with immediate recovery and resilience-building efforts.
The Israeli delegation was dispatched through JReady, a joint emergency preparedness and community resilience platform. The team arrived in Sydney on Tuesday and immediately began field operations.
“On October 7, during the most difficult moments Israel has ever faced, Jewish communities around the world, including the Jewish community of Australia, stood by our side offering strength, support and a deep sense of shared destiny with the Jewish people,” said Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli.
“Today, as the Jewish community in Sydney is targeted in an antisemitic attack, the State of Israel stands with them in the same spirit. Mutual responsibility among the Jewish people is not a slogan. It is a shared commitment,” he added.
The delegation includes leading Israeli experts in trauma response, mass-casualty events and community recovery, all with extensive experience in supporting communities after extreme incidents and in developing long-term resilience strategies.
Led by Sara Ribner-Grabin, the Jewish Agency’s representative in Australia and New Zealand, the delegation is working closely with local Jewish leaders and emergency authorities to assess immediate needs and coordinate professional responses.
In parallel, the JReady platform, which has operated in more than 50 countries and trained roughly 4,000 community leaders and professionals worldwide, activated emotional support hotlines in collaboration with NATAL—The Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center. The hotlines are available to Israelis in Australia and Australian citizens in Israel.
“The attack on the Jewish community in Sydney during Chanukah is a heart-wrenching reminder that antisemitism knows no borders,” said Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, chairman of the Jewish Agency. “Our responsibility is to stand with our brothers and sisters wherever they are, not only in words but through immediate action.”
