PM Albanese ‘warned of beach terror attack’

A terrorist attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach was “completely predictable”, it has been claimed.

Australian Jewish Federation chief executive Robert Gregory said he warned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to blame him for failing to stop the Sydney shooting, which left at least 12 people dead and many more injured.

Mr Gregory said: “What happened tonight is a tragedy but completely predictable.

“The Albanian government was warned many times but failed to do enough to protect the Jewish community. Tonight, many Jews are wondering if they have a future in Australia.”

Mr Albanese faced criticism from Israel for failing to heed the warning, and in his initial statement about the incident did not mention that the shooting had taken place at a Jewish event.

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Shereen Haskell, said: “We said it would end in blood. And unfortunately, time and time again, the Australian government chose not to talk and act.

“Time and time again we have seen hate marches, racist chants, acts of discrimination … and we are warning that the Australian government must take action, not words, but actions.”

Mrs Haskell claimed the government had spread a “blood libel” against Israel over the past two years, giving “extremist and fundamentalist groups justification to harm and attack Jewish communities”.

Australian authorities have promised a “thorough investigation” of the police response after it emerged one of the attackers was on a government watch list but was not considered an “immediate” threat.

Pressure is mounting on the government to explain how the man and his accomplice went undetected before opening fire with at least two long-armed weapons and explosive devices in Australia’s biggest city.

The New South Wales (NSW) police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said it was not fair to suggest police had failed to thwart the attackers, telling a reporter: “I don’t think that’s a fair question.”

He said police were “aware” of the suspect but “doesn’t mean there was any specific threat from that person”, adding: “This is a tragic incident. This is not the time to point fingers.”

He said NSW Police had “very, very little knowledge” of the man, “so he was not someone we automatically looked at”.

Mike Burgess, head of Australia’s spy agency ASIO, also confirmed the man was “known” to intelligence officials but was not in “immediate threat perspective”.

Chris Minnes, the premier of New South Wales, promised a “full investigation” by the government and police.

Australia’s Jewish community, which numbers more than 110,000, has been warning of increased anti-Semitism since the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said 1,654 anti-Semitic incidents were reported last year, marking an “unprecedentedly high level”. In recent weeks, anti-Israel graffiti has been sprayed around Bundy Beach.

In the days following the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023, activists chanted “f— the Jews” during mass protests outside the Sydney Opera House while businesses, homes and synagogues were torched.

Australia formally recognized Palestine as a state in September, after facing pressure from the pro-Palestinian movement, in August thousands of people marched on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Two weeks ago, Arsene Ostrovsky, a Jewish human rights lawyer who had just returned to Australia from Israel and was injured in the attack, posted graffiti on social media that read “F— Zionist Israel” and “Genocide by Israel”.

He told X on November 28: “Barely got off the plane from Israel and went for a morning jog, only to see this disgusting anti-Semitic graffiti plastered on Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach. Thankfully NSW Police were already on the scene. These criminals and thugs cannot be allowed to get away.”

Mr Ostrowski told Channel 9 News: “October 7, the last time I saw it. I never thought I’d see it in Australia.”

Hundreds of people were gathered on Chanukah by the C program organized by the ultra-Orthodox Chabad movement. Chanukah – more commonly known as Hanukkah – is an eight-day Jewish celebration of light commemorating the Maccabean revolt against Greek rule.

The event included live entertainment, face painting, kosher food, music and games, and was expected to end with the lighting of a giant menorah.

One poster advertised: “Come celebrate the light of Chanukah with community. Bring friends, bring family, let’s fill bonds with joy and light.”

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the Chabad emissary in Sydney, was among those killed.

A report by the Executive Council of Australian Anti-Semitism cited an arson attack against a kosher catering business in Bondi, as well as arson, graffiti and vandalism targeting Jewish homes, cars, businesses and synagogues in Sydney and Melbourne.

Australia earlier this year expelled Iran’s ambassador to Canberra after the country’s spy agency discovered that Tehran had orchestrated at least two anti-Semitic attacks.

While the Jewish community welcomed the action against Iran, Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, told the Telegraph that the Hanukkah attacks were the result of years of “unchecked” anti-Semitic incitement, insults and threats.

Mr Leibler said: “When hatred becomes normal, violence follows … Australia must respond with moral clarity, decisive leadership and action.”

The Australian Jewish Federation said in a post on X that Mr Albanese’s initial statement about the attack, not mentioning that it was at a Jewish event, was a “shameful insult”, adding: “Prime Minister Albanese neglects to even mention that Jews were targeted by the Jewish community.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar echoed AJA’s criticism, saying: “You will not find the words: Jews. Anti-Semitism. Terror.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also strongly criticized the Australian government, saying: “We have repeatedly called on the Australian government to take action and fight against the massive wave of anti-Semitism that is disturbing Australian society.”

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