SYDNEY: The funeral of 10-year-old Bondi Beach shooting victim Matilda will be held in Sydney on Thursday (Dec 18) as her parents criticised the government for failing to respond to a rising tide of antisemitism.
Matilda was the youngest of 15 people killed in the Hanukkah festival shooting spree in Sydney on Sunday, allegedly carried out by a father and son radicalised by Islamic State. It was Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years.
Alleged gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son and alleged accomplice, Naveed Akram, was charged with 59 offences on Wednesday.
Matilda’s funeral follows the first of the services for the victims on Wednesday, including those for Rabbis Eli Schlanger, 41, and Yaakov Levitan, 39.
“We have been saying for years … they didn’t do anything,” Valentyna, Matilda’s mother, told Australian media on Wednesday, speaking about a string of antisemitic attacks in Sydney. The family has asked the media not to use their surname.
ANTISEMITIC THREATS
In the latest incident, a 19-year-old Sydney man was charged and will face court on Thursday after allegedly threatening violence towards a Jewish person on a flight from Sydney to Bali on Wednesday.
“Police will allege the man made antisemitic threats and hand gestures indicating violence towards the alleged victim, who the man knew to be affiliated with the Jewish community,” Australian Federal Police said on Thursday.
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