Antisemitism after Oct 7 left 'unchecked,' 'normalized' violence against Jews, says Australian intel chief

Australia’s government convened a Royal Commission this week into the Dec. 14, 2025, terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney that killed 15 people and wounded dozens more, as officials examine whether rising antisemitism and security failures contributed to the massacre.

Testifying before the commission on Monday, Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess said the sharp rise in antisemitic rhetoric and violence that culminated in the attack could be traced back to public reactions following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

“Before the Israeli government responded to that horrific attack, we saw the strong emotions appear in this country where we had people celebrating the Hamas terrorist attack,” he said.

“There is no doubt that the war in the Middle East invoked a range of emotions in Australia,” he said.

“Some of those violent aspects… and those behaviors, including antisemitism that, in our view, were left unchecked, were therefore normalized and gave more permission for violence… and Jewish Australians were on the receiving end.”

Burgess said the rhetoric fueled a surge of antisemitic content online and in public discourse, prompting ASIO to raise the threat level against Australia’s Jewish community to “probable” by August 2024.

By late 2024, he said, the threat had escalated from “threatening, intimidating behavior to direct targeting of people, businesses and places of worship.”

He added that vandalism and arson attacks targeting homes, schools, vehicles and public buildings in Australian cities intensified in the months leading up to the Bondi Beach attack.

ASIO investigations concluded that some of those incidents were linked to operations by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), prompting the Australian government to expel Iran’s ambassador to Canberra in August 2025.

Burgess also said the IRGC is suspected of involvement in additional antisemitic incidents in Australia, adding that “They use their network of proxies and agents to do their bidding, and that is to bring harm to Jewish people wherever they are in the world.”

Another major focus of the commission has been whether local police were adequately prepared for the attack.

The Community Security Group, an umbrella organization representing Sydney’s Jewish community, had requested a larger police presence at the Hanukkah event after indications emerged that an attack was possible. However, only four officers were present when the gunmen opened fire on the crowd.

Within five minutes, 11 officers had arrived at the scene, but the attackers continued firing for more than eight minutes before police returned fire and neutralized them. Three police officers were among the 40 people wounded in the attack.

Richard Lancaster, Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission, said the commission would closely examine the security response, but cautioned against assuming authorities had advance warning.

“There is no evidence that any intelligence agency or law enforcement agency had any actual knowledge or specific information to suggest there might be an armed attack on the Hanukkah celebration. In that sense, it was a surprise attack.”

The Royal Commission – Australia’s highest form of public inquiry – reflects the seriousness with which the government is treating both the Bondi Beach attack and the broader rise in antisemitism across the country.

The commission is expected to submit a final report, including recommendations for further action, before the first anniversary of the attack on Dec. 14, 2026.