Sydney/Jerusalem, Dec 14: International condemnation followed Sunday’s deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, with Israeli leaders and Australian politicians describing the attack on a Jewish Hanukkah gathering as an act of antisemitic violence.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the victims had gathered to mark the start of the Hanukkah holiday when they were attacked. “Jewish people who went to light the first candle of Hanukkah were attacked by vile terrorists,” Herzog said in a statement.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was appalled by the incident. “These are the results of the antisemitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years,” he said, referring to protests and attacks reported since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
In Australia, opposition Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley said the country was in mourning.
“Australians are in deep mourning tonight, with hateful violence striking at the heart of an iconic Australian community — a place we all know and love, Bondi,” she said.
Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the attack was unprecedented in scale. “If we were targeted deliberately in this way, it’s something none of us could have fathomed,” he told Sky News, adding that his media adviser was wounded in the shooting.
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show people fleeing the beach and nearby park as gunshots rang out, with one clip showing a man firing a weapon before being tackled by a bystander. Reuters said it could not independently verify the footage.
The attack came nearly 11 years after the 2014 Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney, when a lone gunman killed two hostages during a prolonged standoff, an event that had already shaped Australia’s approach to counterterrorism and public safety.
