Bondi is where millions of us learn to swim, to surf, to parade up and down the sands; where we rinse off our stress in the Pacific Ocean and suck in great gulps of sea air; where we bring interstate and overseas visitors to skite about our good fortune; where we thrill in our inheritance. We are jealous of these prerogatives. Australia's beaches belong to all of us, we believe. A few years ago, when a local businessman tried to reserve an area of the beach for patrons of an exclusive new club, he was met with charges of elitism and forced to withdraw. In addition to being democratic, our beaches, Australians think, should be safe. We pioneered the world surf-lifesaving movement; volunteers patrol our beaches and rescue swimmers in distress. Our first lifesaving club, established more than a century ago, is in Bondi. If Bondi belongs to all Australians, it's also true that it has long been a rich center of Australian Jewish life, with synagogues and mikvahs and kosher butchers and...
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