The murderous attack yesterday at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, was, tragically, almost predictable. In recent years, and especially since October 7, the number of antisemitic incidents in the country has surged to unprecedented levels. According to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), from October 2023 to October 2024, there were four times as many antisemitic incidents as in the previous year. Although the number of incidents declined by about 20% between 2024 and 2025, it remains far greater than in the period before the war in Gaza and the COVID-19 pandemic, with antisemitic sentiment persisting.
Antisemitic incidents have taken various forms—from vandalism of vehicles in a Jewish neighborhood, through the exposure of personal details of Jewish academics, to an arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. Alarmingly, many incidents have targeted Jewish community institutions with anti-Israel messaging. For example, synagogues and other Jewish community institutions were defaced with graffiti calling to “Free Palestine” and equating Jews and Israel with Nazis.
It’s still too early to know whether Iran or its proxies were behind this despicable attack. Reports that the Mossad warned Australian authorities of an identified intent to carry out an attack are assumed to be accurate. However, this isn’t the time to clash with the Australian leadership over what they did or did not do; there will be time for that later. At present, there’s a need to support the Australian Jewish community and to work together with the Australian authorities to ensure zero tolerance toward antisemitism and to firmly fight against it through deterrence, enforcement, and education.
The murderous attack yesterday at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, was, tragically, almost predictable. In recent years, and especially since October 7, the number of antisemitic incidents in the country has surged to unprecedented levels. According to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), from October 2023 to October 2024, there were four times as many antisemitic incidents as in the previous year. Although the number of incidents declined by about 20% between 2024 and 2025, it remains far greater than in the period before the war in Gaza and the COVID-19 pandemic, with antisemitic sentiment persisting.
Antisemitic incidents have taken various forms—from vandalism of vehicles in a Jewish neighborhood, through the exposure of personal details of Jewish academics, to an arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. Alarmingly, many incidents have targeted Jewish community institutions with anti-Israel messaging. For example, synagogues and other Jewish community institutions were defaced with graffiti calling to “Free Palestine” and equating Jews and Israel with Nazis.
It’s still too early to know whether Iran or its proxies were behind this despicable attack. Reports that the Mossad warned Australian authorities of an identified intent to carry out an attack are assumed to be accurate. However, this isn’t the time to clash with the Australian leadership over what they did or did not do; there will be time for that later. At present, there’s a need to support the Australian Jewish community and to work together with the Australian authorities to ensure zero tolerance toward antisemitism and to firmly fight against it through deterrence, enforcement, and education.