Jewish community leaders have accused Australian governments of ignoring clear warnings, following a deadly terror attack at Bondi Beach that claimed 15 lives. The shooting, which targeted a Hanukkah celebration, is now recognised as the deadliest terrorist act on Australian soil.
A Pattern of Hate: Key Incidents Since October 2023
The period since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 has seen a sharp escalation in reported antisemitic activity across the nation. While authorities have identified some plots as criminal "con jobs," and Asio has alleged Iranian state involvement in others, community groups report a vast number of lesser incidents, from verbal abuse to vandalism, that go unreported.
In September 2024, NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley admitted to potentially overstating figures in Senate estimates, after it emerged police had mis-categorised a "significant" number of reports. Despite this, she insisted the true number of incidents was far higher. By August 2024, police had laid 249 charges against 231 individuals related to antisemitic acts, with 44 involving physical violence.
Notable Attacks and Investigations
October 2023: The crisis began days after the Hamas attacks, with a pro-Palestinian rally at the Sydney Opera House. While police later stated chants were "Where's the Jews?" and "Fuck the Jews," rather than "Gas the Jews," Jewish leaders argued the former indicated a menacing intent to locate Jewish people.
May-June 2024: A series of political offices were vandalised, including that of Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and MP Josh Burns, whose St Kilda office was set alight and defaced with antisemitic graffiti.
October 2024 - January 2025: A concentrated wave of attacks, investigated under NSW Police Strike Force Pearl, targeted Jewish communities in Sydney's eastern suburbs. These included the arson attack on Lewis' Continental Kitchen in Bondi (causing $1m damage), vandalism of synagogues in Newtown and Allawah, and an attack on the home of ECAJ co-CEO Alex Ryvchin.
December 2024: The historic Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, built by Holocaust survivors, was severely damaged in an arson attack declared a terrorist act.
January 2025: The discovery of a caravan containing explosives in Dural, alongside a list of Jewish sites, initially caused major alarm. However, by March, the AFP declared it a "fake terrorism plot" and "criminal con job" orchestrated by organised crime to distract police.
February 2025: Two nurses at Bankstown Hospital faced charges after a video showed them refusing to treat Israeli patients and threatening violence.
July 2025: A man set fire to the entrance of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation during Shabbat services. The perpetrator, who was schizophrenic, was later sentenced, with the magistrate noting it lacked the hallmarks of a targeted hate crime.
November 2025: Approximately 60 members of the neo-Nazi group White Australia paraded outside NSW Parliament with antisemitic banners and chants, an event approved by police on legal advice.
Allegations of State-Sponsored Terrorism and Government Response
In a significant development, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated in August 2025 that Asio and the AFP had "credible evidence" Iran directed both the Lewis' Continental Kitchen fire and the Adass Israel Synagogue attack. Defendants in these cases have denied any connection to the Iranian government.
The NSW government has repeatedly moved to toughen hate speech laws in response to the crisis, enabling police to prosecute without the DPP's permission and proposing to criminalise Nazi salutes and chants. Following the neo-Nazi rally, Premier Chris Minns forcefully rejected the idea that antisemitism was a hoax, directly referencing the Dural caravan plot.
The tragic culmination was the Bondi Beach attack on 14 December 2025, where father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram allegedly opened fire on a Hanukkah event. Speaking at a memorial, NSW Jewish Board of Deputies President David Ossip declared, "the world is looking at Sydney and our country as one of the global epicentres of antisemitism," and called for decisive action from leaders.
