A terrible week

The 15 people shot by the Islamic State inspired father and son duo in Sydney is the worst terror attack in Australia’s history. A further 25 were injured. It was anti-semitism at its most lethal. Jews everywhere, including New Zealand, live in fear they will be next. I’ve been to a couple of Hewish community events in Wellington and security is always paramount for organisers. Jewish schools and synagogues have to have plans for terrorist attacks.

But Bondi was not the only bad news this week. Six days ago a gunman shot 14 people at Brown University in Rhode Island, Two of them were killed. They were studying for exams and were gunned down. The gunman has not yet been caught or identified, and reports about whether he yelled particular words are not confirmed by authorities. But regardless of motivation, it is a terrible crime.

And four people members of the Turtle Island Liberation front have been arrested for planning a bombing campaign for New Year’s Eve. It seems Turtle Island is an indigenous name for North America so they want to liberate North America from, well themselves (those arrested are not indigenous).