Much hilarity has ensued online as a Christmas Ham has been sent to the family home of the Bondi Beach shooters. The father and son duo, Sajid and Naveed Akram opened fire on revellers enjoying the ‘Hannukah on the Beach’ event organised by the local Charedi community. It left 15 dead and 27 injured. It was the worst mass shooting to have taken place in Australia in decades. Sajid died on the scene after being shot by police. Naveed was also shot and was in critical condition. He is now said to be conscious.
Unable to contain their fury, some Australian pranksters have ordered a Christmas Ham and had it delivered to their family home, despite neither of the men there.
I have long said that racists/Islamophobes are not very bright. They are sending pork to the home of a Muslim family in defence of the Jewish community, people who had been attending an event that served kosher food. For those that don’t know, observant Jewish people don’t eat pork either. Ahmed Al Ahmed, the Syrian Muslim who tackled the gunmen, was visited in hospital by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who called him ‘An Australian Hero.’
Not one of these stupid people have stopped to think how they may feel about this ‘hilarious’ prank. Maybe they are just collateral damage. It’s perfectly ok to hate what someone from a particular group has done, without reacting in a way that could offend everyone that belongs to it. And if you find it difficult to separate the two things…there is a word for that.
This is exactly the kind of thing that has left people who sit on the intersection of both communities often worry about. To quote the Jamila, the Arab Jewish woman who we spoke to on the day of the appalling attack,
“Now I’ve got to listen to idiots making racist statements and calling for people that look like me to be attacked. And they’re claiming to do it on behalf of people who are also like me.”
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but being near pork doesn’t kill Muslims. Neither does touching it, sniffing it, licking it or even eating it (although that last option may mean you feel the hell fire in the afterlife, but we will discuss that another time.) Literally nothing will happen to a Muslim that you send pork to. It won’t even make them itch a little bit. All it proves is how ignorant and uneducated you are. Send those hams to the many people going hungry this Christmas.
Shame on you.
17th December 2025