Families of the victims of Australia’s Bondi Beach mass shootings yesterday called for a national inquiry into anti-Semitism and alleged failures in policing, intelligence and policy they blame for the attack.
Father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram are accused of targeting a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens in what authorities have described as an anti-Semitic terrorist attack.
Seventeen families urged Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an open letter to “immediately establish a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the rapid rise of anti-Semitism in Australia” and examine “law enforcement, intelligence, and policy failures that led to the Bondi Beach massacre.”
Photo: Reuters
“We demand answers and solutions,” they wrote. “We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how anti-Semitic hatred and Islamic extremism were allowed to dangerously grow unchecked, and what changes must be made to protect all Australians going forward.”
Albanese has resisted calls for a federal inquiry, citing a need for urgent action rather than waiting “years for answers.”
“We need to get on with any changes that are required,” he told reporters yesterday.
“I have nothing except sympathy for those families. My job, as prime minister, is to look at how we build unity, how we build social cohesion, how we do what the nation needs at what is a very difficult time,” he said.
Albanese last week said that a New South Wales-led royal commission — where the shooting occurred — would suffice and promised full support.
Canberra has flagged a suite of reforms to gun ownership and hate speech laws, as well as a review of police and intelligence services.
Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke yesterday said that a national royal commission could give “some of the worst statements and worst voices” a platform to relive “the worst examples of anti-Semitism over the last two years,” which he said was not in the interest of unity or national security.
However, the families of those killed said the federal government’s response is “not nearly enough.”
“We have lost parents, spouses, children and grandparents. Our loved ones were celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach, a festival of light and joy, in an iconic public space that should have been safe,” the letter said. “You owe us answers. You owe us accountability. And you owe Australians the truth.”
The families said the rise of anti-Semitism was a “national crisis,” adding that the “threat was not going away.”
“We need strong action now. We need leadership now. You cannot bring back our loved ones. But with a well-led Commonwealth Royal Commission and strong action, you may be able to save many more,” they said.
The call for a royal commission echoes voices in the broader Jewish community, legal experts and other politicians. Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the Australian government was not listening.
“We deserve answers. Only a royal commission has the coercive powers to get to the bottom of how this was allowed to happen and what needs to change in this country to prevent the next massacre,” he told national broadcaster ABC.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday announced plans for a national bravery award to recognize civilians and first responders who confronted “the worst of evil” during an anti-Semitic terror attack that left 15 dead and has cast a heavy shadow over the nation’s holiday season. Albanese said he plans to establish a special honors system for those who placed themselves in harm’s way to help during the attack on a beachside Hanukkah celebration, like Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian Muslim who disarmed one of the assailants before being wounded himself. Sajid Akram, who was killed by police during the Dec. 14 attack, and
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