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Our Shared Humanity is the Cure – BEING’s response to the Bondi Beach atrocity

by | Dec 15, 2025 | News

15 December 2025

Our Shared Humanity is the Cure: Refusing division and prioritising psychological safety after the Bondi terrorist attack

BEING – Mental Health Consumers is the peak body in New South Wales for people with mental health challenges and psychosocial disability. Our work is founded on the principles of social justice, respect, and the inherent dignity of every person – values inseparable from the inalienable human rights of all people, including the right to the highest attainable standard of mental health.

Central to achieving the highest attainable standard of mental health is ensuring psychological safety. Racism in all its forms undermines psychological safety: the toll of hypervigilance, generational trauma and needing to defend one’s right to live a life free from violence, including psychological violence, drives mental health challenges.

In response to far flung humanitarian crises and armed conflicts around the world, BEING earlier this year released a position statement calling on all BEING members to commit to a culture of respectful dialogue that respects the human rights of all. We continue to view this commitment as necessary mental health care in an increasingly complex and polarised world.

However, this message is being tragically tested right now in our own backyard. Last night’s terrorist attack in Bondi, targeting Sydney’s Jewish community, has brought distant conflicts to our doorstep, to our golden shores. The attack on families gathering for Hanukkah was a cowardly attempt to turn a celebration of light into a scene of terror.

BEING unequivocally condemns the harrowing loss of civilian life and the targeted nature of this terror attack. While we outright condemn this violence, condemnation is not enough. We must also acknowledge the deep wounds this inflicts on the safety of our communities. This necessarily moves the conversation outside of the paradigm of crime and punishment, terrorism, racism and immigration, to one of public health and mental health.

The atrocious acts of yesterday’s Bondi terrorist attack pierce the mental, emotional and psychological safety of communities in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, and across Australia. We all now have a responsibility to ensure the mental, emotional and psychological safety of each other, making our message of committing to a culture of respectful dialogue that respects the human rights of all, more important than ever.

At the heart of our collective responsibility is refusing to participate in the politics of division and hate. Dividing us is what the terrorist attacks sought, and we urge all BEING members to refuse to participate. When our shared humanity is under attack, we must double down on focusing on our shared humanity. A culture of respectful dialogue seeks to establish a sense of shared humanity in us all.

To the Jewish community:  We see you. We acknowledge that this attack targets not just individuals, but your identity, your culture, and your sense of safety. We understand that events like this reawaken historical trauma and create a heavy burden of fear. Please know that you are not alone. BEING stands with you, condemns outright antisemitism, and mourns the innocent lives lost, and we remain committed to restoring your right to celebrate your faith without looking over your shoulder.

To the Muslim community: We also see you. We know that in the wake of such tragedies, innocent Muslims often face the anxiety of misplaced blame and Islamophobia. At BEING, we know the actions of extremists do not define a faith. And we celebrate the bravery of Ahmed al Ahmed, an everyday hero who disarmed one of the shooters, and whose actions embodied the sanctity of life. We reject any attempt to hold the Muslim community collectively responsible. One form of hate should not birth another.

At BEING we know the mental health toll of hate is real. We must recognise that racism in all its forms, including antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, are drivers of mental health challenges. Recognising this is key to ensuring the mental, emotional and psychological safety of us all. The exhaustion of hyper-vigilance, the anxiety of being targeted, and the trauma of exclusion have no place in our communities, our city, our state, and our country. There is simply no place for it.

True safety is more than the absence of violence; it is the freedom to live without fear.

While today we may be hurting, we must remain steadfast in our refusal to be divided. We urge all to continue to consider the power of their words and to strive for a world where differences are resolved through respectful dialogue, not violence. Together, we can ensure that compassion is louder than hate.

Division dims the light in all of us.

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