In a letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the families said they needed to know how antisemitic hatred and Islamic extremism had been ‘allowed to grow’
December 29, 2025 14:49
Relatives of victims killed and wounded in the December 14 massacre at a Chanukah party on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, have called for a national inquiry into antisemitism and authorities’ preparation and response to the attack.
Seventeen families urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an open letter published today to “immediately establish a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the rapid rise of antisemitism in Australia” and examine “law enforcement, intelligence and policy failures that led to the Bondi Beach massacre.”
Two suspected jihadists, father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram, are believed to have murdered 15 people on Bondi Beach and wounded another 40 in what authorities have described as an antisemitic terrorist attack. Sajid, the father, who was a Pakistani citizen living in Australia, was killed while exchanging fire with police. His son Naveed was wounded and was charged with the murders. He has not entered a plea.
“We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how antisemitic hatred and Islamic extremism were allowed to dangerously grow unchecked, and what changes must be made to protect all Australians going forward,” the 17 families wrote.
Many Australians believe the government failed to intervene when hatred of Israel and Jews went on display on the streets of large cities after October 7, including at an anti-Israel rally held on October 8 2023. Viral footage of this rally showed people chanting a slogan that some viewers heard as “Gas the Jews” while others heard “Where’s the Jews?”
On Thursday, the Rabbinical Association of Australasia published a letter to Albanese, whose government is viewed by many as having been more hostile to Israel than its predecessors, also demanding an inquiry. The Jewish community of Australia said that the government’s response to the Bondi massacre has been “insufficient,” the Rabbinical Association wrote.
“Antisemitism today does not recognise state borders. It spreads like a cancer through national and global networks – online platforms, funding streams, radical Islamist and other extremist ideologies, and radicalisation pathways – many of which fall substantially within Commonwealth responsibility,” the statement read.
Albanese has resisted calls for a federal inquiry into the terror attack, despite two lawmakers from his party – Ed Husic and Mike Freelander – breaking ranks to call for one.
Instead, Albanese has called for a review into federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to examine whether they have adequate powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements.
Albanese has also announced sweeping gun law reform – a plan that some Australian Jews have dismissed as a diversion from the issue exposed during the attack.
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