A sunrise crowd gathers at Bondi Beach in solace and defiance after a massacre

In the first full day of opening since a mass shooting driven by antisemitism killed 15 people at Australia's famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, thousands of people returned to the waterfront Friday to commemorate the losses and try to heal through a sense of community. In a hastily organized event, people gathered shoulder to shoulder on Bondi’s pristine crescent of sand and then formed an enormous circle in the ocean in an expression of solidarity among Sydney’s residents and support for the Jewish community. With questions emerging about whether Australian Jews were sufficiently protected from the threat of attack, and fears of a backlash against Muslims, armed police officers stood guard outside synagogues and mosques in Sydney on Friday.