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<\/p>\nAustralia has seen a string of antisemitic attacks on synagogues and other sites since the war in Gaza began. The country has some of the world’s strictest gun control measures.<\/p>\n
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Australia shooting leaves 16 people dead, dozens injured<\/p>\n
At least 16 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a targeted shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.<\/p>\n
At least 16 people died and dozens more were wounded in a shooting at Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach on Dec. 14 that targeted Australia’s Jewish community, police and officials said.<\/p>\n
In a news conference, New South Wales<\/a> police said two suspects had been taken into custody, a father and son duo, one of whom later died. At least 42 people, including a child, were hospitalized.<\/p>\n The attack, which occurred on the first day of Hanukkah, was declared a terrorist incident.<\/p>\n Authorities and local media reports<\/a> citing eyewitnesses said the shooting began while about 1,000 people were attending a Hanukkah-related party on the beach.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the incident “shocking and distressing” and described the attack as an “evil act of antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation.” Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, said the attack was “designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community.”<\/p>\n When is the first night of Hanukkah? <\/strong>See 2025 dates of observance.<\/a><\/p>\n Australia has experienced a string of antisemitic attacks<\/a> on synagogues and sites since the war in Gaza began in 2023.<\/p>\n Jewish leaders in Australia have been warning the government for months that tragedy was going to strike unless they did something to prevent it, Joel Burnie, executive manager at the Australia, Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, said during a phone interview from Melbourne.<\/p>\n This year alone, 1,654 incidents targeting the Jewish community have been reported in Australia, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Last year, there were 2,062. For comparison, just 495 cases were reported in 2023 and 478 in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cHere in the U.S. and around the world, we\u2019ve been seeing a tsunami of anti-Jewish hate in the past two years, especially post-Oct. 7, 2023,\u201d said Marina Rosenberg, the Anti-Defamation League\u2019s senior vice president for international affairs.<\/p>\n \u2212 Michael Collins<\/p>\n New South Wales Police\u00a0confirmed that the death toll from the Bondi Beach shooting<\/a> has risen 16, including one of the gunmen.<\/p>\n Fourteen people died on the scene and two people, a 10-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man, died at the hospital, according to police. <\/a>Those who died are yet to be formally identified, but police believe their ages range between 10 and 87.<\/p>\n NSW Police said that at least 42 people remain in the hospital following the shooting, including two police officers who suffered gunshot wounds and are in critical but stable condition.<\/p>\n Out of the 42 wounded, police said five people remain in critical condition while others are in serious and stable conditions.<\/p>\n New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said that he is \u201clooking at law reform\u201d around guns following the shooting.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s a massive role for the government, New South Wales police, and regular citizens to play here, to ensure that we keep our community safe, and I won’t hesitate to move legislation if it’s required,” Minns said at the news conference.<\/p>\n He called the shooting \u00a0\u201can intolerable situation\u201d and \u201can attempt to break apart our social life, to divide Australian against Australian.\u201d<\/p>\n The investigation into possible motives behind the attack is ongoing, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said at the news conference.<\/p>\n “Our investigation will be thorough,” he said.<\/p>\n Lanyon added that there will be increased police presence at Jewish houses of worship and areas frequented by members of the Jewish community, with 328 officers on the ground under \u201cOperation Shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make it very clear the New South Wales police will not tolerate the types of violence or the types of antisemitic behaviour we have seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Officials confirmed that a father and son are the suspects in the shooting that left a total of 16 people, including one of the gunmen, dead.<\/p>\n The father, 50, a licensed firearm holder under Australian law for 10 years, was shot by police and died on the scene, according to officials. <\/a>The son, 24, suffered “critical injuries” and was taken to the hospital under police guard.<\/p>\n Lanyon added that the father was licensed for six firearms. He said that officials are investigating whether they’re connected to the shooting.<\/p>\n Two improvised explosive devices were found at the scene, which Lanyon said were “found to be active” before they were seized and deactivated by authorities.<\/p>\n Officials from the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Lebanon and Iran condemn shooting<\/p>\n Representatives from Middle Eastern countries, as well as the Palestinian Authority, denounced the shooting.<\/p>\n Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said that the country condemned the attack “as a matter of principle<\/a>” in a post on X.<\/p>\n “Terror violence and mass killing shall be condemned, wherever they’re committed, as unlawful and criminal,” Baqaei wrote.<\/p>\n In August, Australia expelled Iranian diplomats and withdrew their representatives from Iran after alleging the country directed antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne, according to the BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eyewitness video shows celebration moments before Bondi shooting<\/p>\n Eyewitness video showed the moments before 16 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a targeted shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.<\/p>\n Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun\u00a0wrote that “Just as we condemn and reject attacks on any innocent civilian in Gaza, southern Lebanon, or any other region of the world, we condemn, by the same principle and obligation, what happened in Sydney,” in a statement published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Qatar\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated its stance “against violence, terrorism, and criminal acts, regardless of motive or reason,” in a statement posted to X<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Palestinian Authority\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in a statement<\/a>: “The Ministry affirms the full solidarity of the State of Palestine and its standing alongside friendly Australia \u2026 renewing its categorical rejection of all forms of violence, terrorism, and extremism, which contradict human values and ethical principles.”<\/p>\n Zohran Mamdani<\/a>, the incoming mayor to New York City, which is home to the country\u2019s largest Jewish population, condemned the attack as a “a vile act of antisemitic terror” in a Dec. 14 statement. He also called it the latest instance of a “growing pattern of violence” targeting Jewish people.<\/p>\n “I mourn those who were murdered and will be keeping their families, the Jewish community, and the Chabad movement in my prayers,” Mamdani said in the statement<\/a>. “May the memories of all those killed be a blessing.”<\/p>\n Mamdani said one of the confirmed victims, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, held deep ties to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. The mayor-elect said he will work “every day” to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe once he takes office on Jan. 1, 2025.<\/p>\n At a Christmas reception at the White House, President Donald Trump<\/a> acknowledged the attack in Australia, as well as the shooting at Brown University in the U.S. a day prior.<\/p>\n “That was antisemitic attack, obviously, and I just want to pay my respects to everybody,” Trump said.<\/p>\n The president also mentioned reports of a bystander who attempted to stop one of the shooters. In footage circulating widely online, a man is seen wrestling one of the attackers and taking a gun from him. Trump appeared to refer to the man in the video, and said he is wounded and in the hospital. Australian authorities have also confirmed a bystander intervened during the attack, but have not released any other details.<\/p>\n “A very very brave person actually, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives,” he said in his remarks.<\/p>\n Rabbi Eli Schlanger was one of the victims of the shooting, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation<\/a> and the BBC confirmed<\/a>.<\/p>\n Schlanger was 41 years old, British born, and a father of five with a son born in October, according to the BBC. The ABC notes that he was the head of the Chabad mission in Bondi.<\/p>\n Rabbi Zalman Lewis, his first cousin, told the British broadcaster that Schlanger was “full of life” and that people should do acts of charity if they wish to honor him.<\/p>\n “Every human being on earth has a positive way to contribute to making the world a better place, and we just have to keep spreading light. The world is a positive place and we need to show that and I know Eli would be saying that,” Lewis said.<\/p>\n On the other side of the world, Providence, Rhode Island is set to hold vigil for the victims of the Brown University mass shooting<\/a> at what would have been a menorah lighting ceremony on Dec. 14.<\/p>\n Mayor Brett Smiley made the announcement at a Sunday morning news conference and added that the community is still “in shock and mourning.”<\/p>\n “For those who know at least a little bit of The Hanukkah story, it is quite clear that if we can come together as a community and shine a little bit of light tonight, I think there\u2019s nothing better that we could be doing as a community,” Smiley said.<\/p>\n At least two students were killed and nine others were injured in the shooting that took place at the Ivy League university on the afternoon of Dec. 13. Officials confirmed at the news conference that a person of interest is in custody.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/87766328007-sethnar.jpg\"\/)
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