Amichai Chikli, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, said that Australian officials should have seen the “writing on the wall” before the terror attack last weekend that left 15 people dead during a celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
Since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas, Australia has become a “hotbed” of antisemitism, Chikli told Digital, citing demonstrations where people shouted antisemitic slogans and engaged in violence.
Slogans like “Globalize the intifada” and the waving of flags in support of Hamas, ISIS and other terror groups during an August protest on the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge encouraged the atmosphere that led to the Bondi Beach attack, he said.
“The prime minister said that it was a demonstration of unification, of unity,” said Chikli. “I think that the leadership here failed to understand that words have meanings, and incitement is something which is very, very dangerous. And so there were zero actions from the government, zero condemnation.”
“The writing was on the wall,” he added. “It was not a surprise. We knew that it was going to happen, one way or another, there was going to be violence.”
Since the attack, which claimed the life of a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor, among others, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has moved to tighten the country’s already existing measures. In addition to those killed, dozens more were wounded.
“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Albanese said Monday after meeting with his National Cabinet. “If we need to toughen these up, if there’s anything we can do, I’m certainly up for it.”
The focus on gun control is an attempt to avoid the real issue, said Chikli.
“It’s inconvenient for this government, which was very supportive of these pro-Palestinian demonstrations, to say it loud and clear that we have a problem of jihadist violence of radical Islam,” he said. “I’ve never heard the prime minister of Australia even use the words radical Islam. It seems to be beyond his capabilities to just say the words radical Islam.”
“It’s not the shotgun that killed these innocent people. It is the man behind it,” he added.
Albanese’s office referred Digital to a Wednesday news conference in which he talked about terrorism.
“People who have this perversion of Islam that leads them to support Islamic State, and to have a view that somehow there is some reward for them,” he said. “There is not. They are evil. We need to make sure that we do whatever is within our powers. Now, that means education. It means as well, eradicating, calling out evil when we see it. And we’ll continue to do so, not just as a government, but as a nation as well.”
In a podcast interview that aired the same day, Albanese said the suspects linked to the attack were motivated by “the sort of ideology of the Islamic State.”
“There were flags present in the back of their vehicle that they drove to Bondi in order to cause harm,” he said. “This is a perverse ideology, a terrorist ideology that does not respect human life, and that is antisemitic in character, but anti-humanity as well.”
Dionne Taylor, the communications manager for the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council, told Digital that the government was warned about the potential for violence against Jews.
“It started with…,” she said. “Then graffiti. Then public demonstrations. Then firebombing synagogues, preschools, people’s homes, people’s cars.” And now murder.”
She said Jewish leaders and community representatives repeatedly raised alarms with state and federal officials, warning that inaction would lead to bloodshed. Taylor pointed to formal submissions and a detailed report produced by Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, which she said was acknowledged by the government but never implemented.
Chikli, who has visited Australia since the attack and has attended the funerals for the victims, compared the Australian leadership to the Biden administration, which was criticized by some who said it failed to call out Islamic extremism in favor of woke ideology.
On the contrary, he noted that the Trump administration has pressured American universities to address antisemitism and has moved to revoke the visas for foreign students who participate in anti-Israel demonstrations and foment radical movements.
“The Biden administration is similar in terms of ideology to the current leadership here in Australia – progressive, woke, weak leadership,” Chikli said. “Simple as that, with zero capability of addressing the threat of radical Islam and zero actions.”
He also noted that he hadn’t seen current… at the funerals for the victims.
Digital’s Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.