An Australian children’s book author has sparked widespread condemnation after publishing a newsletter attacking the public response to the Bondi Beach terror attack and vilifying victims of the shooting.
In a piece titled We don’t mourn fascists, author and illustrator Matt Chun denounced the shock and grief that followed the December 14 attack at the “Chanukah by the Sea" event, which was organised by Chabad. Chun claimed the celebration was not an innocent religious gathering but part of what he described as a “violent supremacist organisation" complicit in the oppression of Palestinian Arabs.
The Jewish Chronicle reported that Chun also directed personal attacks at British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was murdered in the attack, labelling him a “Zionist zealot" and accusing him of supporting the eradication of Palestinian Arabs.
Fifteen people were murdered in the Bondi Beach attack, most of them attending the first night of Hanukkah celebrations. The victims included Holocaust survivors and a 10-year-old girl, Matilda, who had been playing at a petting zoo with her younger sister shortly before she was shot.
In his newsletter, Chun alleged that the narrative surrounding the attack was shaped by “Zionist lobbyists, politicians, police and witnesses", and claimed that those murdered were granted “default innocence and virtue" because of their identity and location. He further criticised extensive media coverage and public memorials, arguing that they reflected what he termed “white, Jewish settler victimhood".
Chun, who won an Australian Picture Book Illustrator Award in 2021 and has received public funding for his work, said the piece was written in consultation with members of his community, including Indigenous people and anti-Zionist Jews. He was approached for comment.