‘Everybody’s scared all the time’: Bondi Beach inquiry reveals Australian Jewish community
Listen to this article
Average 5 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
Australia’s wide-ranging inquiry into antisemitism in the country – after the Hanukkah massacre late last year – heard on Monday that growing hatred has left Jewish people in Australia fearful and vulnerable.
Fifteen people were killed when two gunmen opened fire at a party on Bondi Beach in December.
Father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram are accused of carrying out the massacre with guns they owned legally, in a country with strict gun control. The attack, which followed a wave of antisemitic crimes in Australia, was inspired by the Islamic State group, authorities said.
The mass shooting prompted the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, Australia’s highest inquiry, to begin public hearings in Sydney on Monday. The two-week stay is to examine the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in Australian institutions and society.
Another hearing this year will consider other topics before the commission publishes its final report in December.
“The great increase in antisemitism we have seen in Australia has also been seen in other Western countries and appears to be related to events in the Middle East,” said Commissioner Virginia Bell.
“It’s important that people understand how quickly those events can demonize the Jewish people of Australia for being Jewish.”
Ahmed al-Ahmed has been hailed as a hero for confronting a gunman and disarming him during a shootout on Bondi Beach. In an exclusive CBS interview, he opens up about what compelled him to challenge the gunman.
Increase in hate crimes
All the witnesses called to testify on Monday were Jewish Australians who recounted their hateful experiences, some using pseudonyms out of fear for their safety.
The daughter of one of those killed in the Bondi attack said last year she was insulted while holding a child in a Sydney shopping center by a man who saw her Star of David necklace.
“I felt shocked, exposed and unsafe,” said Sheina Gutnick. “There were many people around me but no one intervened.”
His father Reuven Morrison, 62, threw a brick at one of the gunmen who attacked a rally on a popular Sydney beach in December, before Morrison was shot dead. Gutnick said he was wary of going to events with his family in public places or going to certain areas of Sydney.
The Bondi Beach shooting followed an increase in antisemitic incidents since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, 2023. The following year, more than 2,000 episodes were reported to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, which tracks such statistics, compared to the previous record of less than 500 last year.
Assault and torture
Such increases have also been reported around the world. But Australia’s small Jewish population was shocked because its members had not registered a number of serious threats before, witnesses said on Monday.
“Now everyone is scared all the time,” said Toby Raphael, vice-president of Sydney’s Newtown Synagogue, which was anointed with swastikas during the city’s 2025 anti-Semitic crime wave.
Raphael said he once told congregants that there was no need to be safe in the synagogue, but the increase in hate-motivated attacks has changed that. He added that he was part of the security team at his son’s Jewish school, which was also protected by expert security guards who carried guns.
“Why do children have to go to school like that?” Raphael said. “This is the country that Australian Jews live in now and it has to change.”
Antisemitism in Australia was on the rise before the Bondi shootings due to attacks on Jewish schools, businesses and places of worship. The Australian government in August said Iran orchestrated at least two attacks and cut diplomatic ties with Tehran.
Some of those who testified at the inquiry on Monday mentioned these episodes when they said they were thinking of leaving Australia or were planning to move abroad.
Others spoke of being insulted or physically attacked or of having crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters arrive at their synagogues. Alex Ryvchin, the leader of the Jewish group whose home was set on fire in 2025, said he believed Australia was “on the road to disaster,” after the crime at his home and warned reporters that someone would die.
“This was January, and then in December there was a horrific massacre that changed us forever,” he told the court on Monday.
Mourners left memorials, flowers and other tributes at Bondi Beach in Sydney to honor the victims of the incident that left at least 15 people dead and dozens injured.
The massacre took place in Australia, where serious gun crime has been rare since controls were tightened after a mass shooting in Tasmania 30 years ago. The Australian and state governments are now considering further reforms.
An interim report from the Royal Commission released in April, which examined the capacity of Australian law enforcement and security services to respond to violent crime, recommended that Australian leaders prioritize the passing of consistent gun laws and the return of weapons.
During the attack, Sajid Akram was shot dead by the police at the scene. He was a licensed shooter with legal firearms.
His son was injured but survived. Naveed Akram has been charged with terrorism, 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of attempted murder. He didn’t ask for them.
