Deadly Antisemitic Massacre at Hanukkah Celebration in Australia Kills 16 People
The Australian government said it will move to tighten its national firearms laws a day after a deadly attack on a Jewish celebration in Sydney, which killed at least 16 people and left more than 40 injured. It is the worst mass shooting in the country in three decades.
Leaders are moving to fast-track a national gun registry and commit $66 million (USD) to the effort. They have also proposed limiting how many firearms one person can own and further restricting gun ownership for Australian citizens.
Australia passed some of the world’s strictest gun laws, including a ban on assault rifles, in the aftermath of a 1996 massacre that killed 35 people.
Police say the attackers were a father and son, ages 50 and 24, of Pakistani origin. The father, who had a firearms license and six registered weapons, was shot and killed by police at the scene. The son remains hospitalized with critical injuries.
Two ISIS flags were discovered in the gunmen’s car, and authorities believe both attackers pledged allegiance to the terror group, according to Australian press. Australian leaders dodged questions as to how the father was able to own six guns, despite his son reportedly having been investigated over ties to ISIS in the past.
A Targeted Attack On Jews: Authorities have declared the shooting a terrorist attack, after the gunmen opened fire on a Jewish community gathering to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach in Sydney — underscoring the rise of antisemitism in Australia and around the world.
WHAT WE KNOW
Police say the two men used a nearby bridge to fire into the crowd with multiple long guns, before one of them moved toward the gathering while shooting.
In a remarkable act of bravery, a bystander named Ahmed El Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop owner from Syria, wrestled a rifle away from one of the gunmen. He was shot twice but is expected to survive. A GoFundMe for him has raised nearly $2 million.
THE VICTIMS
The victims range in age from 10 to 87 years old and include a Holocaust survivor, Alex Kleytman, who was killed while shielding his wife. Also killed were Rabbi Eli Schlanger and a 10-year-old girl.
One of the injured was Arsen Ostrovsky, a prominent advocate against antisemitism who recently moved to Australia to lead the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), which has warned for years that “antisemitic vitriol on our streets would evolve into antisemitic violence if left unchecked.”
BIGGER PICTURE
The Israeli government has criticized Australian leadership, saying it warned that antisemitism was worsening and that intelligence suggested Iran may be encouraging such attacks abroad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu specifically said that he warned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that “your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.” Albanese pushed back on that assertion.
Steep rise in antisemitism: Before Oct. 7, Australia averaged about 300 antisemitic incidents a year. In the two years since, the average rose to roughly 2,000.
Just days after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, protesters gathered outside the Sydney Opera House and were heard chanting “F— the Jews” and “gas the Jews.”
This year alone has seen often-deadly antisemitic attacks at Jewish gatherings in Colorado, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s home during Passover, and England on Yom Kipper.