More than 1,000 people gathered Bondi Beach On a warm day to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah in Australia. In stark contrast to the joyous power of the beach, a you are crazy he continued, it is suspected that he was pre-arranged with Father and son Who opened fire with guns on the crowd, with an explosive device that exploded when they were ready for their car.
“This is a targeted attack on Australian Jewish doctors,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albonese said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albony called Sunday’s mass shooting “an attack against Jewish Jews,” and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said it was “designed to target the Jewish community of Sydney.”
The police should have been careful, given that it was the celebration of Hanukkah and antisemic attacks have increased in Australia after October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked in Israel, according to information from the Executive Council of Jews of Australia.
However, the two attackers were said to be able to drive the fire towards the beach for more than five minutes, according to eyewitness accounts. The videos show the suspected gunmen taking their time to aim, shoot and kill them from a bridge near the sea. One video shows a good Samaritan jumping behind one of the archers and fighting with his gun. Local sources reported that the man, identified as 43, Ahmed al-Ahmedsuffered from two gunshot wounds.
“The first initial response was not the police, it was the citizens, which raised a lot of questions about the role of the police,” said Oded Ailam, who used Israeli intelligence for two decades and reviewed videos of the attack for CBS News.
“Everything points to this being a pre-planned attack for a long time,” Ailam said. “The big question now is if Iran and Hezbollah will be affected.”
Australia at the beginning of the year determined a series of previous arson attacks against a synagogue and sent a Kosher food supplier.
“On a policy issue, Iran condemns the violent attack against civilians in Sydney, Australia,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. “Recent violence and mass murder will be condemned, wherever it is committed, as illegal and criminal.”
When asked by reporters if Sunday’s shooting was a failure of intelligence, new officials in south Wales brushed off the questions and began keeping them safe.
The suspects are believed to be a father and son duo originally from Pakistan, CBS News has learned. They had six handguns – legally purchased – and were armed with an explosive device that detonated to target a Jewish gathering, according to authorities.
While shocking, this attack is not entirely surprising to people who are followed by antisemitic attacks.
The rise of antisemitism in Australia
Australia has been plagued by reports of antisemitic attacks and incidents in the two years following October 7, 2023, according to statistics from the Jewish Executive Council of Australia.
In one particularly notable incident last year, masked assailants carried out an attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. Another arson attack was carried out at Kosher Food Provider Lewis Continental Kitchen in Sydney, also last year.
Both of these attackers were determined by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) to be arrested in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. In August, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expelled the Iranian ambassador, along with three other Iranian diplomats, citing intelligence verification to conclude that Iran had directed attacks on Australian soil on Australian soil.
The ECAJ found antisemitic incidents in Australia remain at high levels – almost five times the annual number between October 7, 2023, with the biggest spike between 2021 and 2024.
J7 refers to the seven countries and major Jewish communities outside of Israel that create the J7 force against antisemitism: the United States, Canada, Germany, France and Australia.
The Task Force met in Sydney less than a week before Sunday’s attack to discuss the growing security threat to the Jewish community in Australia.
“This attack is not only part of a disturbing series of disturbing events in Australia but also around the world,” said Oren Segal, President of Segal, said Everal Opponent, Phrice President of the Counter-Deciation and intelligence at the anti-defamation League. “And these incidents are becoming more and more violent.”
