THE president of the Jersey Jewish Congregation has reflected on her feelings of “horror and upset” following the terror attack in Australia over the weekend, which came just two months after antisemitic murders in the UK.
Although waking up to the news was “very disturbing”, Martha Bernstein said she was “not in total belief” that the Jewish community was targeted again.
The news broke on Sunday morning that a terror attack had taken place on Sydney’s Bondi Beach by two gunmen who were targeting a Jewish Hanukkah celebration.
So far, 15 people including a 10-year-old girl have been confirmed dead with dozens more still in hospital.
It comes just over two months since two others died in an antisemitic attack at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester on 3 October, which took place on Yom Kippur; the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Martha Bernstein said that she still feels the weight of the targeted violence towards people of her faith.
However, she reflected that Jewish people living in Jersey still “believe ourselves to be safer here than in many other parts of the world”.
“Antisemitism exists full stop,” Mrs Bernstein said. “But somehow we just have to hang on to the belief that here in Jersey, people are kinder and more tolerant”.
She explained how “baffled” she still was that Jews were targeted on the eve of Hanukkah, which is a festival to celebrate the “continued right to believe in the principle of one God”.
“We’re there to celebrate our rights to peaceful coexistence and somebody decides to turn it into something completely different,” Mrs Bernstein reflected. “That’s the hardest part to get one’s head around.”
Since Sunday’s incident, Mrs Bernstein has reached out to the Australian Jewish women’s council, pledging her support. She said she has also received symbols of allegiance from Islanders.
The Jewish congregation in Jersey and around the world “continue to pray behind closed doors”, she explained.
She said of continual fears: “This is how we live.
“I just want more understanding, more compassion and just more kindness from everyone to everyone.”
Calling for more unity between faiths, she added: “I want anyone to be able to go to church, or to go to the mosque without looking over their shoulder all the time like I have to.”
Mrs Bernstein also said that the States of Jersey police are “absolutely wonderful”, and that there remains “no increased risk” against local Jews.
