A mass shooting at a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach comes amid a sharp increase in antisemitic incidents across Australia since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry recorded more than 3,700 anti-Jewish incidents in the two years after the Oct. 7 attack — a pace about five times higher than in the decade before. Reported incidents ranged from anti-Israel graffiti to the firebombing and destruction of a synagogue in Melbourne.
Other countries have also seen rises in antisemitic attacks, though Australia’s spike has been especially pronounced. Jewish leaders from around the world gathered in Sydney this month to draw attention to the trend.
“What is happening in Australia is not an exception; it should be a wake-up call to communities worldwide,” said Marina Rosenberg, senior vice president for international affairs at the Anti-Defamation League. “When synagogues can be firebombed in Melbourne and Jews threatened and attacked in New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Buenos Aires and Toronto, this is a threat not only to Jewish safety but to democratic stability itself.”
Australia’s government has accused Iran of orchestrating arson attacks on the Melbourne synagogue and a kosher food business in Sydney last year.
On Sunday, authorities said two gunmen, identified as a father and son, opened fire at the Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens more. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the attack as antisemitic terrorism. “This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” he said.
Major cities internationally increased security for Hanukkah events in response to the Bondi attack. Australia is home to about 117,000 Jews, fewer than 0.5% of the population. Albanese pledged a national response “where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish faith.”
In 2024, Australia appointed a special envoy to combat antisemitism and launched a multi-pronged plan addressing campuses and media. The strategy drew criticism from some quarters for potentially conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. A commentary from the University of New South Wales’ Australian Human Rights Institute acknowledged the troubling rise in incidents while warning that not all criticism of Israel stems from anti-Jewish sentiment.
In September, Australia joined Canada and the United Kingdom in recognizing the state of Palestine as a step toward reinvigorating a two-state solution. In the wake of the Bondi shooting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Australia’s recognition “pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.”