One Mitzvah for Bondi campaign fights hate with love … one small act of kindness at a time

Mourners at Sunday’s vigil for the victims of the Sydney’s terror attack. The One Mitzvah for Bondi campaign calls on people to perform good deeds to foster togetherness. Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

When the New South Wales government asked Jewish faith leaders what they wanted after the explosion of hate that targeted their community and claimed 15 lives at Bondi beach, they requested positive action.

The idea Rabbi Nochum Schapiro presented to the emergency meeting of the NSW Faith Affairs Council convened by the minister for multiculturalism, Steve Kamper, was simple. It was for everyone to perform one mitzvah – an act of kindness.