Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Australia’s Bondi Beach on Friday, meeting survivors and Jewish community leaders following last year’s terrorist attack targeting a Chanukah celebration that left 15 victims dead.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex walked along the beach accompanied by first responders from the Bondi Beach Surf Lifesaving Club and later spoke with survivors of the Dec. 14 attack, carried out by a father-and-son duo accused of targeting a Jewish festival, AFP reported.
Photos from the visit showed the couple speaking with survivor Elon Zizerb, who was shot multiple times while shielding his children during the attack, Australia’s worst mass shooting in three decades.
The couple used their four-day trip to Australia to show their support for mental health initiatives as well as veterans and their families. They began their tour with three days in Melbourne on Tuesday where they spent time at the Royal Children’s Hospital and visited a women’s shelter.
The visit came after the New South Wales Court of Appeal struck down protest laws introduced following the Bondi attack, ruling that expanded police powers to restrict demonstrations impermissibly burdened the implied constitutional freedom of political communication.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the government remained convinced the legislation had been necessary in the aftermath of the attack.
“This was in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack our country has seen, in which 15 innocent lives were lost,” Minns said. “We believe it was necessary and important for Sydney at the time.”
