Online antisemitic discourse, reports of verbal attacks, and property damage, in Australia spiked by up to 600% following the Bondi Beach terror attack, Israeli government data shows.
The public will be able to nominate those they believe worthy of being honored for their actions in response to the Hanukkah party terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 15 and wounded 40.
The president of the Zionist Federation of Australia called the invitation an important moment of solidarity and healing, saying 'it shows that Australia stands with its Jewish citizens, and Australia stands with Israel, against terrorism and hatred'
The ceremony was broadcast in Australia at the site of the Bondi Beach massacre last week and watched by thousands of members of Australia's Jewish community
A moment of silence was observed in Australia on Sunday at 6:47 P.M., marking exactly one week since the Bondi Beach terror attack that took 15 lives at a Jewish festival celebrating the first night of Hanukkah
Albanese said the event he attended at the Great Synagogue in Sydney on Friday night showed "the spirit of our Jewish Australian community is completely unbreakable."
"It's not the fact that those two people had a gun. It's the fact that hatred has been allowed to fester against the Jewish minority in Australia," Teplitsky said.
Will murderous antisemitism now be normalized in Australia, just as attacks on synagogues and antisemitic graffiti on our schools and threats of violence against 'Zionists' have been normalized?
The Bondi Beach attack was not confusing. It was absolutely clear that gunmen were shooting at people. And it was absolutely clear that the target was a Jewish Hanukkah event.
We thought Australia would be a safe haven from surging attacks against Jews. We were wrong. But while we see persistent threats minimized until they become lethal, too many politicians are exploiting our fear to advance an agenda of hate and division that has nothing to do with us
The mass shooting that killed at least 11 at Sydney's Bondi Beach – the first time gun violence targeted Jews in Australia – comes only a week after a major report documented a rise in antisemitic events in Australia in the two years since the Oct. 7 attack in Israel
From antisemitic graffiti to violent threats and deadly attacks, in the wake of the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration shooting, the list of antisemitic incidents in Australia continues to grow.
This year's total of 1654 consisted of 24 physical assaults, 33 incidents of vandalism, 621 physical abuse, and 359 graffiti, 238 messages, and 379 posters, according to the ECAJ
A report by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry tracked 1,654 'anti-Jewish' incidents in the year ending on September 30 – triple the average in years preceding the October 7 attack. 'In such an environment, Jews have legitimate concerns for their physical safety and future in Australia,' the report said
DIASPORA AFFAIRS: Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler on how Australian Jews were shocked by both the wave of antisemitism post-October 7 and the silence that followed.
Australia in August accused Iran of directing two antisemitic arson attacks in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and expelled Tehran's ambassador for the first time since World War Two