Families of Bondi victims demand probe into anti-Semitism in Australia

Families of victims of the deadly onslaught connected a Jewish solemnisation astatine Australia’s Bondi Beach earlier this period person called for a nationalist enquiry into rising anti-Semitism.

In an unfastened missive published connected Monday, relatives of 11 of the victims of the onslaught called connected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to clasp a royal committee into what they called the “rapid” and “dangerous” emergence of anti-Jewish sentiment pursuing Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks connected Israel.

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Fifteen people, most of them Jewish, were killed when two gunmen opened occurrence connected a Hanukkah solemnisation at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach on December 14.

Australian authorities person said the suspected gunmen, Sajid Akram and his lad Naveed, were inspired by the ISIL (ISIS) group.

In their letter, the families said they needed to cognize wherefore “clear informing signs were ignored” and “how antisemitic hatred … [was] allowed to dangerously turn unchecked”.

“As arrogant Australians and arrogant Jews, we person endured much than 2 and a fractional years of relentless attacks,” the families said.

“Our children consciousness unsafe astatine schoolhouse and university. Our homes, workplaces, sporting fields, and nationalist spaces nary longer consciousness secure.”

The response of Albanese’s Labor authorities to the attack, including proposals to tighten gun laws and introduce tougher authorities against hate speech, was “not astir enough,” the families said.

“The unsafe emergence of antisemitism and radicalism successful Australia is not going away,” they said.

“We request beardown enactment now. We request enactment now.”

The calls for an enquiry into anti-Semitism came arsenic Albanese connected Monday announced the presumption of an autarkic reappraisal into whether instrumentality enforcement and quality agencies could person done much to forestall the attack.

Albanese and his authorities colleagues person resisted calls for a nationalist enquiry into the attack, arguing that specified a process would instrumentality years and could undermine societal cohesion by platforming extremist voices.

Albanese told a quality league that the review, led by erstwhile quality main Dennis Richardson, would analyse what authorities knew astir the suspected gunmen earlier the onslaught and accusation sharing betwixt national and authorities agencies, among different issues.

“Just implicit 2 weeks ago, anti-Semitic terrorists tried to teardrop our state apart, but our state is stronger than these cowards,” Albanese said.

“They went to Bondi Beach to unleash wide execution against our Jewish community. We request to respond with unity and urgency alternatively than part and delay.”

Anti-Jewish sentiment, arsenic good arsenic anti-Islam and anti-immigration sentiment, are rising successful Australia. Many Australians person expressed their concerns implicit a emergence successful right-wing extremism successful the country, wherever 1 successful 2 radical is either calved overseas oregon has a genitor calved overseas.

In September, thousands of radical held rallies successful cities, including Sydney, Perth, Canberra and Brisbane, demanding an extremity to “mass migration”.

The Australian authorities has condemned the rallies, which took spot nether the banner of “March for Australia”, arsenic racist, portion Minister for Multicultural Affairs Anne Aly said the gatherings were “organised by Nazis”.

The radical down “March for Australia” said connected its website and societal media that “mass migration has torn astatine the bonds that held our communities together” and that its rallies aimed to bash “what the mainstream politicians ne'er person the courageousness to do: request an extremity to wide immigration”.

But Australia besides experienced a crisp emergence successful some anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents since October 7, 2023.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, which supports the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) explanation of antisemitism, documented 1,654 anti-Jewish incidents nationwide betwixt October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025, aft much than 2,060 incidents the erstwhile year.

The Islamophobia Register Australia recorded 309 in-person incidents of Islamophobia and 366 online incidents betwixt January 1, 2023 and November 31, 2024.

Numerous rights organisations, including immoderate Jewish groups, person criticised the IHRA explanation of anti-Semitism, arguing that it has been utilized to conflate morganatic disapproval of Israel – peculiarly of its genocidal warfare connected Gaza – with anti-Jewish bigotry.

One of Albanese’s highest-profile critics successful the aftermath of the Bondi Beach onslaught was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – helium blamed Albanese’s authorities for failing to support Australia’s Jewish assemblage and besides linked the shooting to Australia’s caller determination to recognise Palestinian statehood.