Antisemitism

The Bondi shooting was not an isolated act of violence. It was the logical endpoint of the normalization of radicalized anti-Israel rhetoric in Australia.

Chabad rabbi Eli Schlanger, killed in the Bondi Beach shooting, urged Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to stand with Israel in a September open letter on Facebook.

From antisemitic graffiti to violent threats and deadly attacks, in the wake of the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration shooting, the list of antisemitic incidents in Australia continues to grow.

The local police commissioner denied that there was any intelligence prior to the attack, KAN noted.

Israeli intelligence has warned that Tehran has been targeting Jewish communities abroad, reportedly smuggling weapons and using social media cells to incite violence.

In a shocking act of antisemitic vandalism, multiple mezuzahs were torn down from the doorways of Jewish residents of a Toronto retirement home.

The horrific massacre in Sydney was a terrifying breaking point. But it did not emerge in a vacuum.

This is not only a failure of government. It is a failure of law enforcement culture, of university leadership, of media judgment, and of national nerve.

Just two weeks prior, Ostrovsky warned about the "alarming surge in Jew-hatred since October 7, including the defilement of Australian landmarks being hijacked as platforms for intimidation."

"Our hearts are with the community, and we stand with them," Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer said at the event honoring lone soldiers at the President's Residence in Jerusalem.

An attack on Jews celebrating their faith is an attack on Australia itself. It is an assault on our values, our social cohesion, and the basic right of people to gather without fear.