In the Media

The Daily Telegraph – 27 December 2025

Less than two weeks after the horrific antisemitic attack in Bondi left 15 people dead, another violent act of Jew-hatred has taken place, this time in St Kilda East in Melbourne when a rabbi’s family car with Chanukah decorations was torched in the early hours of Christmas Day. The young family had to evacuate their home as a precaution.

Sadly, and predictably, the murderous Bondi attack was not the end of the wave of Jew-hatred currently sweeping across Australia, but just one more, albeit the most deadly, of countless incidents that Australian Jews have been experiencing for well over two years now.

It is only by sheer miracle that previous violent antisemitic incidents over the past two plus years didn’t end in death.

When the Adass Israel Synagogue was set alight, worshippers inside were miraculously able to escape. Likewise, tragedy was averted during the firebombing of the East Melbourne Synagogue by the quick-thinking actions of the Rabbi’s child, who recognised the danger and kept the doors shut.

Bondi, tragically, was not so lucky, becoming the deadliest attack on Jews in Australia’s history. This time, however, it also affected the wider Australian community, who saw their beloved iconic Bondi Beach  and Australia tarnished by jihadist terror. Australians showed genuine compassion and solidarity with what Australian Jews have been going through in this dark period.

However, the East St Kilda attack shows the Bondi massacre was not the end, but just another blow to Australia’s reputation as a welcoming and tolerant country.

And while the support from the community has been genuine and warm, when it comes to the Federal Government in particular, we remain highly concerned. It has arguably been the most hostile Australian government towards Israel, a democratic ally. Its actions simply cannot be divorced from the exploding number of attacks against the Australian Jewish community.

Soon after taking office in 2022, it reversed recognition of west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – a fact that no two-state peace would negate. The Government also designated all of disputed east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza as “occupied Palestinian Territories”, pre-empting negotiations by prejudging any future outcome on how a two-state solution might look.

On October 7 itself, while Israelis were still being tortured and raped and entire families burnt alive, Foreign Minister Penny Wong inexplicably called on Israel to show restraint.

Adding further insult, when she finally visited Israel in January 2024, she refused to visit massacre sites in Israel’s south. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has yet to visit Israel, making him one of the few democratic world leaders who has failed to show solidarity with a fellow democracy under attack – a troubling indication of the attitude of this Government towards Israel.

It remained a constant, unfair vocal critic of Israel during its war with Hamas. Its damaging recognition of a Palestinian state, even while Hamas remains in charge, did nothing to achieve peace and only further emboldened Hamas, which praised the decision and remains committed to its one state solution – a Palestinian state instead of Israel!

In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attacks, Federal and State governments failed to act against the open and brazen displays of hatred, igniting a powder keg still burning today. The recommendations of the PM’s own Antisemitism Envoy spent five months basically gathering dust.

Now, in Bondi’s aftermath, PM Albanese is responding, but the proposed further laws on gun control, visa restrictions and hate speech, while welcome, distract from the real issues of tackling antisemitism and Islamist extremism. Moreover, it was never just about laws, but rather the will to implement them. Hate laws already exist, and visas could always have been revoked or withheld, as demonstrated by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke denying visas to prominent Israelis.

A way forward has been provided by NSW Premier Chris Minns. His measures include gun law reforms and banning displays of hateful symbols, but he has also outlawed the violent incitement chant of “Globalise the Intifada”and allowed police to ban protests up to three months after terror attacks. Such protests have clearly been a hotbed of violent incitement. He has also announced a Royal Commission, a body which the Federal Government should also establish.

After October 7, the genie of antisemitism erupted in Australia. Reversing that trend will require this Government to demonstrate a new found strong and determined resolve, prepared to genuinely confront Jew-hatred wherever it appears, without excuses or equivocation.

The Prime Minister’s most recent condemnation of the evil of antisemitism and formal invitation to Israel’s President Herzog to visit are certainly steps in the right direction. This hopefully reflects a growing awareness that Australian Jews can no longer continue to live with the consequences of a hatred that has inexorably grown and which also threatens the very fabric of a democratic, cohesive, fair go and safe Australia.

Justin Amler is a policy analyst at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council