{"id":81979,"date":"2026-08-28T03:06:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T03:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/81979\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T03:06:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T03:06:34","slug":"bondi-bereaved-holocaust-survivors-call-for-extended-antisemitism-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/81979\/","title":{"rendered":"Bondi bereaved, Holocaust survivors call for extended antisemitism inquiry"},"content":{"rendered":"

The families of Bondi terror victims, Holocaust survivors and former prime ministers have demanded the antisemitism royal commission be drastically expanded to better interrogate government shortfalls and the rise of extremist Islam, expressing concern over the inquiry\u2019s tight deadline and its failure to publicly call vital witnesses.<\/p>\n

As royal commissioner Virginia Bell wrapped public hearings on Wednesday<\/a> without heeding calls to significantly extend her inquiry, Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke evaded questions on whether they should have given evidence, and were adamant the probe should stay independent.<\/p>\n

Senior counsel assisting the royal commission Richard Lancaster, hit back at the \u201ccritics\u201d who, he claimed, failed to appreciate the \u201cfull scope\u201d of evidence the commission had canvassed.<\/p>\n

Echoing the calls of 30 national security experts including former governor-general David Hurley<\/a>, a chorus of prominent concerned Australians suggested the royal commission had fallen far short of expectations.<\/p>\n

Holocaust survivor Eddy Boas said the short deadline and omission of key figures was \u201cwhat \u00adAlbanese wanted\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe commission should have been extended. They have not given one good reason why it should not be extended to ask more questions,\u201d Mr Boas, who survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as a child, said.<\/p>\n

Peter Halasz, an Australian entrepreneur who left Hungary after surviving the Holocaust, said the country\u2019s highest-ranking Jewish-Australian government minister, Josh Frydenberg, should have been called to give evidence after he first urged a royal commission. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m worried they will come out with a report that says and does nothing,\u201d Mr Halasz said. <\/p>\n

His son, Anthony Halas, said he was hopeful at the outset, as one of the first witnesses, that the inquiry would \u201cgrapple with the real issues facing our community\u201d but as the royal commission went on, he became disappointed with the \u201clight touch\u201d approach \u201cthat skimmed the surface of a crisis that has torn through this country for three years\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who actually shaped this issue were not brought before the commission. Protest organisers who took to our streets were not called. Sitting MPs were not called. The Prime Minister was not called,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cJosh Frydenberg was not called. The social media commentators who have spent years vilifying our community were not called. If you leave out the people at the centre of the problem, you cannot claim to have properly \u00adexamined the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ernie Friedlander, who also left Europe after the Holocaust, said he was sceptical the hearings would produce a final report that would be \u201cfollowed up properly by the government\u201d. <\/p>\n

The families of Bondi victims Tibor Weitzen, Boris Tetleroyd and Alex Kleytman said the commission had been rushed and failed to answer questions raised in the aftermath of the attack. <\/p>\n

Weitzen\u2019s widow, Eva, said she was \u201cvery disappointed\u201d in the commission and believed it would not get to the bottom of the terror attack that claimed her husband\u2019s life. Ms Weitzen said her family was yet to hear from the Albanese government. <\/p>\n

Jenny Roytur, the niece of Tetleroyd, was among the most vocal of the Bondi victims\u2019 family members who called for the royal commission in December, believing it would deliver answers and accountability. More than eight months on, she said she was not asked to give evidence, despite making two submissions, and the inquiry fell \u201cwell short\u201d of her \u00adexpectations. <\/p>\n

\u201cEnding the public hearings early while significant witnesses remain unheard and major questions remain unanswered sends entirely the wrong message,\u201d Ms Roytur said. \u201cWe are reaching the end of public hearings with \u00adsignificant witnesses unheard and\u00a0fundamental questions un\u00adresolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kleytman\u2019s daughter Sabina Kleitman raised concerns last week about the omission of key Labor ministers, Mr Frydenberg and religious leaders. <\/p>\n

Former Liberal prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott backed expert calls for the commission to be extended. <\/p>\n

Mr Abbott said the leaders \u201cwho didn\u2019t take antisemitism seriously\u201d, security agencies and Islamist preachers should all give evidence. <\/p>\n

It follows calls from former Labor MPs including Jennie \u00adGeorge, Peter Baldwin and Mike Kelly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore our eyes we\u2019ve seen what a waste this royal commission has been,\u201d former Labor senator Nova Peris said. \u201cThe royal commission the nation called for is not doing the job the nation called for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s peak Jewish groups said they understood these views but supported the work of the commission, including its 12-month deadline.<\/p>\n

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Ag\u00adhion and co-chief Alex Ryvchin said the commission had done well in shining a light on the lived experiences of Jewish Australians, arguing there would be no benefit in hearing hate preachers and protesters give evidence as the country already knew who they were. <\/p>\n

Mr Ryvchin said the royal commission format, which is not as rigorous as a criminal court proceeding, would be exploited to \u201cpontificate and cite\u201d and do \u201cprofound harm to this country\u201d. <\/p>\n

The actions of the protest organisers, hate preachers and \u00ad\u201cpeople like the Australian Greens\u201d had been submitted in extensive written evidence. <\/p>\n

The Jewish leaders, along with Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Michele Goldman, said there would never be enough time to get to the bottom of Jewish \u00adhatred. <\/p>\n

The cross-examination of former president David Ossip by lawyers for the pro-Palestine movement was an \u201cuncomfortable\u201d chapter for the inquiry, but Ms Goldman said it was \u201cimportant for the credibility of the commission to explore difficult issues\u201d.<\/p>\n

Holocaust survivor Nina Bassat and Chabad of Bondi chief rabbi Yehoram Ulman<\/a> were the final witnesses of the commission. Rabbi Ulman reflected on the tragic loss of his son-in-law Eli Schlanger while Ms Bassat said Jewish Australians had expected better than a \u201cgreat silence\u201d among political leaders on antisemitism.<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Australian after her testimony, Ms Bassat said she wished these senior figures had been called to give evidence. \u201cIt would have been productive to have heard from members of government at certain levels,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not suggesting that leaders are complicit, but they are certainly enabling hate speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

The commission called 346 witnesses over four months in nine hearing blocks spanning 62 hearing days. It received more than 20,000 public submissions and through this had heard from 14,000 \u2013 or about 12 per cent \u2013 of the 120,000 Jewish Australians.<\/p>\n

It received more public engagement than any inquiry before it and almost doubled the number of submissions given in the aged-care royal commission. Among the 10 most recent federal royal commissions, it had the fourth lowest number of hearing days and was equal-fifth in number of witnesses.<\/p>\n

Ms Bell said the one-year anniversary of the Bondi massacre should be an occasion for commemorations, and not be overshadowed by her report; she had decided to hold her report until December 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fully understand that concern, and to avoid that distraction, I have asked for a short extension,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Bell said the commission was still trying to hear evidence from ASIO whistleblower \u201cMarcus\u201d but faced difficulties due to a visa dispute. Marcus claims he met the alleged perpetrators of the Bondi massacre, Sajid and Naveed Akram, in 2019 as an undercover agent within Sydney\u2019s Salafi Jihadist extremist movement.<\/p>\n

Information Rights Project founder Gabriel Shipton, the brother of WikiLeaks whistleblower Julian Assange, is acting as an intermediary for Marcus and told The Australian the whistleblower had a new visa application pending, and he would be reluctant to give evidence outside Australia for fear he would lose certain legal protections.<\/p>\n

Ms Bell said she would push for confidential sections of her report relating to the December 14 attack be released publicly at the end of Naveed Akram\u2019s criminal trial.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, 30 military and national security leaders penned an open letter saying the commission risked being a \u201clost opportunity\u201d without further hearings. Mr Lancaster, however, said \u201ccritics\u201d did not understand the extent of the commission\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been and continues to be a high level of public interest in the work of the commission, appropriately, and there are many commentators upon, and indeed occasional critics of, the work of the commission,\u201d he said in a closing address.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch commentary is necessarily made without an appreciation of the full scope of evidence and material that is available to you, commissioner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Albanese on Wednesday batted off calls for an extension saying: \u201cThe royal commission is independent, and I support it conducting its really important work\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had discussions as late as yesterday and this morning with Rabbi Ullman,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Mr Burke refused to comment on decisions of the commission. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have at no point, nor has any member of the government, interfered or commented on the process of the royal commission. Nor will we,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t be interfering or providing any commentary on the decisions they\u2019ve made as to what should be public, what should be private, or who should be called.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opposition leader Angus Taylor said the commission had gone off course and lacked key testimony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the royal commission the Prime Minister didn\u2019t want. He was dragged kicking and screaming to call it in the first place,\u201d he said. \u201cI am increasingly fearful that it will fail to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional reporting: Bimini Plesser, Lachlan Leeming<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The families of Bondi terror victims, Holocaust survivors and former prime ministers have demanded the antisemitism royal 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