They gathered in coats and scarves in the dwindling light on a little hill in Bondi, a coalition of 100 or so, accompanied by dogs and children.
The decision to gather in public on Wednesday night was a deliberate one to highlight the first Jewish grouping in Australia to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, the release of hostages and freedom and justice for all in Israel and Palestine. A similar gathering in St Kilda, Melbourne echoed the call for peace.
Eve Altman, one of the people who organised the gathering in Sydney, said the idea for a vigil had spurred from grassroots conversations with friends in the Jewish community.
They expected no more than a dozen. But supporters continued to get on board until numbers exceeded 150 in the two cities.
“These are really horrific and difficult times,” she told the crowd.
“I’ve personally had a number of conversations over the last few weeks with people in our community who are feeling really isolated right now … who haven’t seen their values, a call to end violence and protect civilian life, reflected in mainstream discussions about this war.
“That is what motivated us to organise this vigil and this Kaddish tonight … we’re not alone, and if we work together we can push for change.”
Since conflict broke out in Israel on 7 October, 1,400 Israelis have been killed and 200 have been taken hostage. More than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Altman said the events of the past weeks had filled the Jewish community with sadness and worry yet many had also felt “alone in this grief”.
“As a community a lot of Jews don’t want the grief we are still feeling to be used justification for taking innocent lives,” she said.
“It very much feels there haven’t been spaces you can mourn both the loss of Jewish and Israeli life and the loss of Palestinian life and call for the end to violence at the same time.
“These things don’t have to be in conflict with one another.”
She acknowledged there was fear about rising antisemitism was deterring people in the Jewish Australian community from turning up to public actions.
“We wanted to be visible,” she said. “To show there are also Jews who stand for Palestinian liberation, are calling for a ceasefire but also wanting to mourn the loss of life for Israel.”
An open letter spread at the event called for an immediate ceasefire and demanded Jewish communal organisations did the same.
“Once violence enters into the world it can not be put back,” it read. “As many of us know, we carry it for generations.”
As the event went on, participants slowly sunk to the grass and sat, solemn and reflective. Some hugged their friends and partners, others took tissues from their bags to wipe tears from their eyes.
The crowd rose again with a mourner’s Kaddish – a prayer chanted as part of grief rituals in Judaism prayer services.
“May Heaven grant a universal peace, and life for us, and for all Israel,” they chanted in the traditional language.
The mood was sombre, reflective. When the crowd eventually held a silence of reflection, all that could be heard was the call of kookaburras and cicadas. A world away from conflict.
Jordan Werner-Hall, another one of the organisers, led the kaddish.
“We all hold immense pain, grief and horror … with nowhere to put it,” he said. “Our community leaders should be here with us. I feel that void.
“It’s very hard to see from the diaspora and the outside that solidarity work is possible … as Jews, we feel lost in this political space, but fundamentally, this is the starting point … we’ll never be able to have a free future without peace.”
As the vigil concluded, the sky had darkened. Still visible was a painted sign lit by torchlight. “Ceasefire now,” it read.
