Australia has seen a spate of anti-Semitic attacks on synagogues and other locations since the start of the war in Gaza. This country has some of the strictest gun control measures in the world.
At least 11 people killed in shooting during Hanukkah event in Australia
At least 11 people were killed and 29 injured when a gunman opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration on Australia’s Bondi Beach.
Fox – 32 Chicago
At least 11 people were killed and dozens injured in a shooting attack targeting the Australian Jewish community at Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach on December 14, police and authorities said.
New South Wales Police said two suspects were in custody, one of whom later died. The other suspect was in critical condition. The attack took place on the first day of Hanukkah and was classified as a terrorist incident.
Authorities and local media, citing witnesses, reported that about 1,000 people were attending a Hanukkah-related party when the shooting began. Australia has seen a spate of anti-Semitic attacks on synagogues and monuments since the start of the Gaza war.
Prime Minister Antony Albanese called the incident “shocking and tragic” and described the attack as “an evil act of anti-Semitism and terrorism that struck at the heart of our country.” NSW Premier Chris Minns said the attack was “designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community”.
At least 29 people, including one child, were hospitalized.
bondi beach shooting incident
Australia has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, and mass shootings are relatively rare.
Still, the shooting is believed to be the deadliest in Australian history since Port Arthur in 1996, when a lone gunman killed 35 people at a historic Tasmanian site. The incident led the Australian government to impose a near-total ban on all automatic and semi-automatic rifles.
Hanukkah begins on December 14th and is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays. And Bondi Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world. It is crowded with locals and tourists on weekend nights.
Videos circulating on social media platform X showed people scattering onto the beach and a nearby park as multiple gunshots and police sirens could be heard. One video showed a man in a black shirt firing a large weapon, and a man in a white T-shirt tackling him and taking the weapon away.
Another man was also seen firing a gun from the footbridge. Explosives associated with the deceased suspect were found in the car, police said at a press conference.
“If decisive action is not taken now to protect the Jewish community and confront anti-Semitism head-on, this will not be the last genocide. Once again, the warnings will be ignored,” Nitsana Darshan Leitner, an Israeli lawyer and human rights activist, said in an email.
