We stand here today, as we do every year at this event, deeply appreciative of the bipartisanship that is on display from all levels of government.

I would like to start my remarks by acknowledging that last week, we marked six months since the horrors of the Chanukah attack at Bondi Beach.

The Bondi terror attack impacted every Australian. The attack claimed 15 innocent lives – including Victorian resident Reuven Morrison – and inflicted a deep trauma on the entire Jewish world.

But from those horrors, something far more powerful In the days following that tragedy, the JCCV office received almost 100 letters from faith, cultural and official groups, mostly in Victoria. also emerged.

We received many more phone calls, messages and online comments of support.

Those days were overwhelming, but I recently went back and reviewed some of those letters.

Within hours of the attack, the Chinese Community Council of Australia (Victoria Chapter) had released a message saying “we must stand together against violence, extremism, and hatred in all its forms.”

Our friends in the Baha’I community reminded us that even in troubled times, their community holds “a deep belief in the oneness of humanity and in the possibility and necessity of peaceful coexistence among all peoples. We grieve alongside you and stand in solidarity against hatred and violence in all its forms.”

Leaders of the local Somali community wrote to tell us “This is a time for unity, compassion and mutual support. We call on all Australians to stand together”.

And there were dozens more messages along the same lines from Turkish groups, Christian groups, Muslim groups, Indian and Hindu groups, local councils, surf lifesaving clubs, schools and many others.

These responses demonstrated unequivocally that the Bondi attackers failed to break us. Instead, they created a renewed determination for us all – regardless of our birthplace, language we speak at home, or religion, to fight for safety and kindness in this country.

In the wake of Bondi, we saw scenes that brought out the true Australian character.

• The longest lines our country has ever seen outside blood banks.
• Mountains of flowers, cards and notes left at Bondi Beach, but also outside synagogues and Jewish community centres, even here in Melbourne.
• People from different faiths, cultures and backgrounds coming together in unity and solidarity – at the large interfaith vigil in Melbourne, in the days after the attack and in January, at the National Day of Mourning in the CBD. I want to acknowledge our Christian friends who organised and hosted these events with the utmost sensitivity.

The empathy we felt in those days was deeply and truly appreciated.

If the terrorists’ intent was to shatter our community, they failed. They made us stronger. They brought us together.

And now, as the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion hears from the community – over 16,000 submissions at last count – the nation is hearing our story, what went wrong, and what needs to be done to fix it.

From within our Jewish community, one of the things we have heard most frequently is that we don’t want to build bigger walls. We don’t want more guards. We don’t want to live in a bunker.

We want Melbourne to be a city where we can walk into our synagogue, drop our kids off at Jewish schools, and celebrate our festivals without having to worry about our safety. Without having to go past armed security guards.

Victoria’s multicultural success was not built overnight, and it is as fragile as it has ever been. Restoring it will not be easy.

But I see signs of the turnaround – the determination from all to safeguard it.

• From the City of Melbourne, City of Glen Eira, City of Port Phillip and City of Bayside making significant efforts to actively encourage social cohesion in their municipalities.
• From organisations and sporting codes, like the AFL, starting to take action and engaging with our community to root out antisemitism.
• I acknowledge forthcoming legislation in this state to create a new multicultural leadership body to champion this cause in Victoria.
• The visual representation of multiculturalism that is our Socceroos team at this World Cup. Our first goal of the tournament scored by a proud Australian born in a refugee camp in Tanzania and celebrated by all of us.

The onus is on every single one of us – not just our political leaders – to fight for that social cohesion, to work together, and to put aside our differences, just as we are tonight.

But it’s also on us as a Jewish community to keep living our lives filled with joy, Yiddishkeit and ruach – spirit.

• To keep celebrating simchas – births, weddings, milestones.
• To maintain and grow our rich cultures and religious traditions.
• To keep educating the next generation about the joys of our faith and our culture.
• To keep embodying the mitzvah of tzedakah – charity – through our many organisations that care for the most vulnerable across our community and our country.
• To keep singing, to keep dancing.

That is the resilience we are seeing from our community that gives me heart.

That is the Jewish community I am proud to represent on this stage tonight.

I look forward with hope and optimism – that we will look back in one year’s time at this event again with pride at what we have accomplished together.

Thank you.

I would now like to welcome to the lectern, Jess Wilson, Victorian Leader of the Liberal Party and Member for Kew. Thank you Opposition Leader.