22 January 2026
As Australia marks the National Day of Mourning for victims of last month’s terror attack at Bondi Beach, Refugee Council of Australia is supporting the One Mitzvah for Bondi campaign, encouraging Australians to remember those who died by creating a powerful wave of goodwill.
Proposed by Jewish community leaders and promoted by the NSW Faith Affairs Council, the One Mitzvah for Bondi campaign invites people to undertake an act of kindness, compassion or charity to promote goodwill. Suggested acts of service, or mitzvahs, include volunteering, donating, giving blood, calling someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, buying a neighbour a coffee or supporting those in need.
Actions that promote goodwill and build connections and understanding between people with different backgrounds and ideas will be essential as the nation looks to ensure that the shocking violence of 14 December 2025 is not repeated.
On the day after the attack, the Refugee Council of Australia wrote to representatives of the Australian Jewish community to communicate our support and to express our condolences to community members who lost family members and close friends. We acknowledged the important role Jewish Australians have played over many decades in speaking up for the rights of people seeking freedom from persecution, including their role in helping to form the Refugee Council of Australia in 1981 and in continuing to support newly arrived refugees and people seeking asylum.
Today, as the nation mourns, we restate our support for the Jewish community and express our deep sorrow that 15 people had their lives taken away so cruelly and senselessly. We will take to heart the Jewish community’s impressive and inspiring call to respond to this shocking act of violence with acts of goodwill and compassion.
The NSW Faith Affairs Council is encouraging people to share their mitzvahs, their acts of service, anonymously at https://www.nsw.gov.au/community-services/one-mitzvah-for-bondi
