Lydia Khalil
A horrific terrorist attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach targeting Jewish Australians at a public Hannukah celebration has left at least 16 people dead and many others injured, some critically. This is the deadliest incident of gun violence in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre and the worst terrorist attack in Australian history. There is still a lot we do not know, including the shooters’ motives, how it was planned, if the attackers acted on their own accord or by the directives of a broader organisation or state sponsor.
But we do know this:
This attack has come amid a tide of rising antisemitism and a sharp uptick in attacks against Jewish people and targets, not only in Australia but globally. Anti-hate and Jewish interest groups have reported an exponential increase in harassment and intimidation against Jewish communities since the deadly 7 October 2023 attacks and the Israel-Hamas conflict. Law enforcement assessments have counted almost 50 major incidents against Jewish targets worldwide since. There have been multiple warnings that without a more robust response, smaller incidents would lead to major violence. The Bondi attack is precisely what was feared would happen.
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