It was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year on the weekend, and I wish everyone in Bradfield’s Jewish community and beyond a Shanah Tova. The New Year is traditionally all about sweetness, and I know the Jewish community dips apples into honey to symbolize that.
But it would be wrong to suggest that all is sweet this year. Rosh Hashanah comes just a couple of weeks after the public hearings ended for the Royal Commission into Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion, and it's been a particularly painful time for the community.
People are still processing the trauma of last year's terrorist attack and grappling with the rise of anti-Semitism in society more generally. I know many will be relieved to have had that moment over the New Year holiday to pause and reflect and to take comfort in the warmth of community.
Nothing can undo the horror and violence of December 14 last year, and there is so much to be done to ensure that that horror never reoccurs. It's up to all of us in Bradfield to make everyone in our community feel safe and respected.
So, as we wait in this period between the end of the hearings and the delivery of the report in December, I urge you all to take some time to pause and reflect on how you can make that safety and that respect a reality for the people in your lives.
Last year was marked by a terrible tragedy, and I extend my heartfelt hopes that the new year will see only peace and healing.