From Jerusalem to Sydney: Hadassah mental health specialists lead crisis intervention to support, counsel Australia’s Jewish community following deadly attack.

Hadassah International led the global Hadassah movement in rapid response to the horrific attack at a Hannukah celebration in Bondi Beach, Australia.

Working closely with Hadassah Australia and drawing on the Hadassah Medical Organization’s (HMO) grim experience in treating terror- and war-related trauma, the response has been delivering immediate support for the Australian community, including:

Resources to support first responders such as psychologists, general practitioners and psychiatrists.
Webinars to share expert knowledge on mass casualty events with Australian GPs, psychologists and other medical professionals.
Guidelines for the community – prepared by Hadassah’s foremost trauma experts –to support wellbeing in the days and weeks ahead.

These guidelines offer practical, compassionate advice for all ages, including tips for talking with children in age-appropriate and reassuring ways. Click HERE to view the guidelines.

Within an hour of the attack, Hadassah’s expert team held an emergency webinar led by Dr. Amichai Ben Ari, a rehabilitation psychologist specializing in acute trauma at Hadassah, and Director of the Institute for Addictions and Dual Diagnosis (ICAMH) at Hadassah and the Israeli Center for Addiction.

The webinar focused on guiding therapists on how to intervene with victims and their families during the initial phase of crisis intervention as well as how to support second-circle victims and the broader community. During the session, a precise needs assessment was conducted, alongside an initial analysis of the immediate steps required in the early stages of response.

Dr. Ben Ari also shared detailed guidance documents with the Forum of Jewish Therapists in Australia. These included professional guidelines for community therapists, focusing on early intervention and identification of individuals requiring acute emotional care, as well as a separate guidance document tailored for community members themselves.

On Monday, the day after the attack, Dr. Ben Ari conducted an online briefing for Australian family physicians, providing them with direction and practical tools to help their patients and communities cope with the aftermath of the attack.

The HMO team also includes Dr. Shiri Ben David, HMO’s Chief Psychologist, and Dr. Naomi Maimon, Director of HMO’s Trauma Clinic — all highly experienced in the treatment of acute trauma.

The team was able to build on a previously established professional relationship with the Jewish therapists’ forums in Sydney and Melbourne. This was forged in August 2025, when Dr. Ben David led training sessions on trauma treatment.

This sessions were based on extensive clinical experience and insights accumulated at Hadassah since October 7, following the treatment of more than 1,000 trauma victims, including security personnel and civilians from across the country.

Israeli trauma leader Danny Brom calls for sending message of ‘strength and resilience’ to support healthy coping

Within hours of the Bondi Beach massacre on Sunday in Sydney, Australia, psychologist Amichai Ben Ari was on a Zoom call with Australian Jewish therapists, conducting an emergency webinar and sharing guidelines developed through Israel’s hard-won trauma expertise.

“Usually we’re on the receiving end from the Australian community — they’ve supported us since the Oct. 7 attacks,” Ben Ari, a rehabilitation psychologist specializing in acute trauma at Hadassah Medical Center, told eJewishPhilanthropy. (Indeed, Hadassah’s own Gandel Rehabilitation Center is named for the Australian Jewish couple that donated some $20 million for its construction.) “I said, ‘Maybe now we can support them.’ It gives such an extra sense of mission that we can now give back.”

The mass shooting at Sunday’s Hanukkah celebration killed at least 15 people and injured scores more in what Australian authorities called an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack. Hadassah’s director general, Dr. Yoram Weiss, immediately pledged the medical center’s support, calling this a moment for “solidarity, accompaniment and the provision of a comprehensive support framework.”

The rapid response was enabled by relationships built over time, Hadassah officials said. Hadassah Australia had already worked closely with Hadassah International, bringing expertise from Jerusalem to the Australian Jewish community over the last few months as part of a response to rising antisemitism in the country over the past two years, including sending a networking delegation of trauma experts to Australia just this past August.

“Hadassah Australia has always been a fundraising organization, but we have really been cooperating in recent times in a two-way relationship where we not only fundraise, but bring expertise from Hadassah to Australia as well,” Dr. Mark Suss, chair of Hadassah Australia, told eJP. “For a philanthropic organization like ours, a crisis like this requires us to provide community leadership.”

Ben Ari’s webinar focused on guiding therapists on crisis intervention — how to support victims, families and the broader community. During the session, his team conducted a precise needs assessment and analyzed immediate response requirements. Ben Ari shared detailed guidance documents with the Forum of Jewish Therapists in Australia. These included professional guidelines for community therapists, focusing on early intervention and identification of individuals requiring acute emotional care, as well as a separate guidance document tailored for community members themselves.

On Monday, Ben Ari followed up with an online briefing for approximately 100 Australian family physicians, providing practical tools to help patients and communities cope with the attack’s aftermath. Additional support continues through individual Zoom sessions with therapists and a community meeting scheduled for Thursday, facilitated by the Hadassah Medical Organization’s chief psychologist, Shiri Ben David.

Ben Ari, who also serves in the Israel Defense Forces reserves as a combat operations commander, said the Australian Jewish community’s experience differs markedly from Israel’s repeated exposure to terrorism. “It’s different. In Israel we’ve basically become accustomed [to terror],” he said. “I think the difference is the shattering of a kind of fantasy they had that there’s security.”