Advocates from Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem speak out after Bondi Beach terror attackaq

A call for urgent action has been issued by spokespeople from the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem (IEJ) following the Bondi Beach terror attack in Sydney, Australia, in which 15 Jewish people were murdered, highlighting the lethal effects of unchecked antisemitism. 

Nova Peris, Australia’s first Aboriginal woman elected to Federal Parliament, Australian businessman and former politician Nyunggai Warren Mundine, together with historian Dr. Sheree Trotter and Hon Alfred Ngaro from New Zealand, issued a joint statement on behalf of the IEJ after terrorists opened fire on the crowd gathered to celebrate Hanukkah on Sunday night.

“As friends and allies of the Jewish people, we have watched with growing alarm as their small community has endured a surge in hate incidents over the past two years, in Australia and across the world,” the statement read.

The IEJ outlined the gravity of the situation, providing some shocking statistics: “Australia’s Jewish community – numbering just 117,000 within a national population of 28 million – has been subjected to 1,654 antisemitic incidents in the year leading up to the Bondi Beach attack. These have included fire-bombings, arson, and the vandalism of synagogues, Jewish centres, businesses, and private properties. Jewish congregants and patients have been threatened. Jewish neighbourhoods and schools have been deliberately targeted.”

“No one can credibly say, 'We didn’t see this coming.' Nor can we plead ignorance about the forces that have fuelled this hatred,” they insisted.

Their statement drew a direct line between the antisemitism that has been allowed to fester in Australia and the horrific events of the Bondi massacre.

The IEJ spokespeople warned, “This is the product of two years of incitement to violence - incitement supported at times by media outlets, academia and politicians.  From the infamous Sydney Opera house protest held just two days after the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack - where the cries of  'f*ck the Jews' and 'Where’s the Jews?' was heard, to the months of mindless mobs calling to 'Globalise the Intifada' – the message was clear; it was a call for Jewish blood.”

“Throughout this period, the pleas of our Jewish brothers and sisters have too often been ignored, minimised, or dismissed. No more. This moment demands that their voices be taken seriously.”

Trotter, a Māori academic with the IEJ, told ALL ISRAEL NEWS, “The attack was predictable and we in New Zealand have also seen the same massive upswing in antisemitism.”

She added, “On the first night of Hanukkah, I joined the Auckland Jewish community for their celebration and had discussed with friends how sad it was that we could no longer have the sort of public events as in the past, because of security concerns. Then, at the end of the evening, we heard about this horrific attack. I ended the evening weeping with my Jewish friends over the murder, yet again, of their people.” 

“The initial reactions were of shock, grief and sadness, but also anger, that the voices of the Jewish people, who have been warning of this possibility, have been ignored and minimised for months,” Trotter relayed.

“Most galling is to hear some of our left-wing politicians who have regularly castigated Israel, participated in the hate-filled marches and chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” now sending messages of condolences to the Jewish community. It seems the saying is true, “people love dead Jews.” It has been particularly disturbing for me, as a Māori, to see Indigenous communities co-opted into the false Palestinian narrative by Māori politicians who have so passionately embraced anti-Jewish propaganda,” she said. 

In their call for action, the IEJ joint statement urged, “Let this attack be a catalyst for change – an inflection point that compels us to confront the root causes of antisemitism. We call on leaders and governments in Australia, New Zealand, and around the world to take a clear and principled stand against Jew-hatred in all its forms, and to take substantive action to dismantle the culture of hatred and violence that has been allowed to fester over the past two years.”

Demanding substantive change at the governmental level to protect the safety of Jewish citizens, they asserted, “If we fail to stand firmly for the values that underpin our societies – life, dignity, and freedom – those values will be eroded, and the voices of Jew hatred will prevail.