Bondi families demand national probe into rising antisemitism after deadly attack

Families of victims killed in the deadly shooting at a Jewish celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach are calling for a national reckoning, urging Australia’s government to launch a royal commission into what they describe as a “rapid” and “dangerous” rise in antisemitism.

In an open letter published on Monday, relatives of 11 of the 15 people killed in the December 14 attack appealed directly to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, arguing that existing government responses fall far short of the moment. The victims were attending a Hanukkah celebration when two gunmen opened fire, killing mostly Jewish attendees. Australian authorities say the suspects, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, were inspired by ISIL (ISIS).

The families said they need answers about why “clear warning signs were ignored” and how “antisemitic hatred … [was] allowed to dangerously grow unchecked”.

“As proud Australians and proud Jews, we have endured more than two and a half years of relentless attacks,” the letter said. “Our children feel unsafe at school and university. Our homes, workplaces, sporting fields, and public spaces no longer feel secure.”

They criticised the Albanese government’s response, including proposals to tighten gun laws and strengthen hate-speech legislation, as “not nearly enough”.

“The dangerous rise of antisemitism and radicalism in Australia is not going away,” the families wrote.“We need strong action now. We need leadership now.”

The appeal comes as Albanese announced the terms of an independent review into whether law enforcement and intelligence agencies could have done more to prevent the attack. The review will be led by former intelligence chief Dennis Richardson and will examine what authorities knew about the suspects and how information was shared between federal and state agencies.

Albanese has resisted calls for a full public inquiry, arguing that a royal commission could take years and risk amplifying extremist voices. Speaking at a news conference, he said:

“Just over two weeks ago, anti-Semitic terrorists tried to tear our country apart, but our country is stronger than these cowards. They went to Bondi Beach to unleash mass murder against our Jewish community. We need to respond with unity and urgency rather than division and delay.”

The debate is unfolding against a broader backdrop of rising social tensions. Australia has seen increases not only in antisemitic incidents, but also in Islamophobia and anti-immigration sentiment. In September, thousands rallied across major cities under the banner “March for Australia”, calling for an end to “mass migration”. The government condemned the rallies as racist, with Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly saying they were “organised by Nazis”.

Data reflects the strain. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry recorded 1,654 antisemitic incidents nationwide between October 2024 and September 2025, following more than 2,060 the previous year. The Islamophobia Register Australia documented hundreds of in-person and online incidents over a similar period.

At the same time, rights organisations, including some Jewish groups, have warned that the widely adopted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism has at times been used to blur the line between anti-Jewish hatred and legitimate criticism of Israel, particularly over its war in Gaza.

For the families of Bondi’s victims, however, the issue is immediate and personal. Their call is not only about one attack, but about what they see as a failure to confront a climate in which violence could take root.