JERUSALEM, Dec 14 — Israeli leaders condemned today’s shooting in Sydney in which two suspected gunmen killed nine people and wounded multiple others, saying it targeted Jews celebrating Hanukkah.
President Isaac Herzog called the shooting a “very cruel attack on Jews who went to light the first candle of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach”.
In a speech at an event in Jerusalem, Herzog called on Australia to “fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society”.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on X that the attack was “the results of the anti-Semitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years... The Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses!”
An annual “Chanukah by the Sea” gathering marking the Jewish festival of Hanukkah was planned at the beach this afternoon, but officials have not commented on a possible antisemitic link.
In another post, Saar criticised a statement by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for not calling it an antisemitic attack.
He wrote: “Words you will not find in the PM statement: Jews. Antisemitism. Terror.”
Both Herzog and Saar said they spoke with David Ossip, President of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, who, according to Herzog, “was speaking at the event as the shooting attack began”.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he was “horrified by the antisemitic terrorist attack targeting Jewish families celebrating Hanukkah in Sydney.”
“Boulder. Manchester. Washington. And now Sydney. The names of more and more cities around the world are becoming synonymous with deadly attacks against Jews. Stopping these horrors requires immediate, decisive intervention at all levels,” he said on X.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted on X that “the blood of the victims is on the hands of the Australian government, which announced recognition of a ‘Palestinian’ state and gave legitimacy to terrorism against Jews”. — AFP
