The targeted attack on Jewish people during the first day of a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday 14th December 2025 has been condemned by a wide range of community leaders and organisations, political parties and humanitarian agencies. 

The Hannukah celebration had attracted around 1,000 people and was being held at Archer Park just west of the Bondi Pavilion.

From 6.47pm, two gunmen, identified as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, carried out the targeted attack from a footbridge just north of the Bondi Pavilion.

Official reports confirm that 15 people were killed by the gunmen, while 40 others were injured, some critically, and taken to various hospitals.

The attack has been described as the deadliest terror incident and the second-deadliest mass shooting in Australia’s modern history after the Port Arthur massacre on 28th April 1996.

Statements

To indicate the extent of the condemnation of this deadly act of violence, extracts from a range of agencies and community organisations are cited below.

United Nations (UN)

Professor Ben Saul, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism said:

“I unequivocally condemn this hateful, antisemitic, terrorist violence against Australia’s Jewish community, which is an attack on all Australians and their way of life. I express my deepest sympathy to the victims and their families.”

Professor Saul welcomed the Federal government’s pledge to further strengthen the safety of the Jewish community and to consider tightening the country’s already strict gun control laws which, he said, have helped to ensure that mass shootings are exceptionally rare in Australia.

In addition to calling for an independent and impartial investigation to identify whether the authorities missed any opportunities to prevent the attack, he also called on the authorities “to ensure that Muslim Australians and migrant communities are not stigmatised in public debate and online for the actions of suspected criminals.”

He added that “(p)olitical actors, including other governments, must also refrain from politicising this tragic incident and stoking social division.”

Amnesty International Australia

In its response to the Bondi shootings, Amnesty International condemned “the shocking, targeted attack …  against members of the Jewish community during a festival celebration marking the first day of Hanukkah in Bondi.”

The human rights organisation extended its “deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of people who were killed, to all who were injured, and to the Jewish community in Australia who are grieving in the wake of this devastating act of violence.”

The statement also noted that “(a)cts of extreme violence against people, meant to instil fear and terror, and racism are an affront to our shared humanity. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and mourn alongside them. We condemn antisemitism and all forms of racist hatred.”

Amnesty International urged politicians, community leaders and the public to “reject attempts to place blame on entire communities or to use this tragedy to fuel further racism or division” and warned against “knee-jerk responses that scapegoat communities, undermine the right to protest, or seek to justify discriminatory measures such as calls to restrict or target immigration on the basis of religion, race or nationality.”

The Federal government was also urged “to take a strong, clear and principled stance against racism and hate in all its forms, and to support meaningful and community-led anti-racism initiatives nationwide.”

Jewish Council of Australia

In a media release on the Bondi shootings, the Jewish Council of Australia stated:

“This is a week of profound grief for Jewish people and the entire nation. We mourn the lives of the victims and stand with their families, loved ones and everyone traumatised by the Bondi attack.”

While the facts were still emerging with respect to the targeted attack, the Government was urged to focus on the policy failures which may have contributed to the massacre. A concerted focus on online hate, early intervention and gun reform were supported.

Sarah Schwartz, Executive Officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, noted that the Government’s goal of confronting antisemitism and racism wherever they appear was fully supported and that this was a responsibility that belongs to all of us – government, institutions and communities alike.

“Our grief should not be used as a political weapon, nor as an excuse to pursue agendas that divide communities. We urge the Prime Minister to reject voices which seek to use this response to divide us and pursue anti-immigration or pro-Israel agendas, and instead focus on what is needed to keep us, and all racialised communities, safe from violent acts of racism”, said Schwartz.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN)

In a social media post, Australia Palestine Advocacy Network stated:

“APAN is devastated and angered by the mass shooting aimed at a Jewish community Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach tonight. We send our love, care and solidarity to all of those who were killed and injured and all who are affected by this violence. This attack is a cause of deep pain for us all.

We are living in profoundly violent times. We can only counter this by coming together at every opportunity: everyone, here and elsewhere around the world, must be able to live free from harm and fear.

In moments like this, it is critical that communities are supported with care, compassion, and access to the resources they need to recover and heal. And society at large must not respond with speculation, vilification, blame and hate.”

Positive government responses

Initial government responses to the Bondi shootings include the Federal government’s plan to launch a new gun buyback scheme which PM Anthony Albanese claims will result in the biggest collection of weapons since the Port Arthur massacre in April 1996.

In addition, the NSW Premier Chris Minns has announced a suite of gun control measures which include limiting the number of firearms most recreational shooters can own to four.

Negative government responses

While these gun reform measures are welcome, other responses to the Bondi shootings are decidedly negative.

Conflating antisemitism with criticism of the State of Israel

One such negative response is PM Albanese’s decision to adopt 13 recommendations made by Jillian Segal (Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism) in her July report, which includes officially adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

Critics have emphasised, in particular, that the report’s definition of antisemitism can be used to conflate antisemitism with legitimate criticism of the State of Israel.

This very real concern was expressed in an open letter to PM Albanese and other government ministers by  a coalition of nine Jewish organisations. The open letter justifiably warned that Segal’s plan risks undermining democratic and multicultural values by:

• Proposing a framework that addresses antisemitism in isolation from other forms of racism;
• Risking restrictions on lawful political expression, academic inquiry, journalism, the arts, and civil society advocacy; and
• Conflating antisemitism with legitimate political viewpoints, including criticism of the policies or actions of the State of Israel.

Another negative response to the Bondi shootings is Premier Minns’ proposal to grant police the power to refuse peaceful assemblies during so-called periods of “terrorism designations”.

Banning public protests

On 19th December, Premier Minns announced that when a terrorism designation was in place, the police, with the agreement of the minister, “will be able to declare a specific area where the public assemblies are restricted for a period of time”.

The NSW Premier wants parliament to grant his government such extraordinary powers to effectively ban protests for up to three months, on the bogus grounds that the “implications” of pro-Palestine rallies could be seen in the Bondi terror attack.

Chris Minns has a history of opposing pro-Palestinian rallies and has sought in recent times to either restrict or ban such rallies.  It is clear that he now sees current circumstances in the wake of the Bondi shootings as favourable to achieving this objective.

Enacting such laws to restrict free speech and freedom of assembly must be vigorously opposed.

In this regard, it is worth quoting Timothy Roberts, President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties:

“The banning of protests will not stop antisemitism, and the premier is wrong to disgracefully link years of peaceful protest to such a horrific and unrelated event. The attack was antisemitic. The protests have not been. To suggest otherwise is to wilfully conflate antisemitism with legitimate criticisms of the actions of the government of Israel. This act alone is inflammatory, but the provocative, partisan and frankly disgraceful language of the premier in announcing this proposal was an act of wilful political vandalism that cuts at the very fabric of the social cohesion the premier purports to promote.

How can we do the work of healing divisions when our premier characterises so many of our actions like this?

This is nothing new. The premier has repeatedly attempted to curtail protest rights over the past two years, such as with the Places of Worship Act that would have banned protest rights across NSW. This law was rightfully found unconstitutional by our supreme court. The proposed laws are sure to attract another challenge, and this alone confirms the proposal is ill-considered and ill-timed.

Suggesting that the peaceful protests we have seen in the city of Sydney “sow division and hatred” and suggesting it can “unleash violence” is outrageous rhetoric that itself sows division in our community and is unbecoming of his office. How can we as a community do the work of healing divisions when our premier uses his position to characterise so many of our actions like this?

The premier and his government are using a moment of anger and grief to rush through new laws that attack our democratic rights. This is a despicable display of political opportunism that undermines our democracy.”

More information

Timothy Roberts, ‘The NSW premier’s outrageous rhetoric on peaceful protests sows division in our community. It’s unbecoming of his office‘, The Guardian, Dec 20, 2025.

Raghid Nahhas, ‘What the Bondi Beach tragedy reveals about Australia’s political faultlines’, Pearls and Irritations, Dec 20, 2025.

Michael West, ‘The Government is using a tragedy to crack down on free speech’, The West Report, Dec 18, 2025.

Paul Gregoire, ‘Shoebridge Calls out the Antisemitism Envoy for Disregarding Nazis and Demonising Palestinians’, Sydney Criminal Lawyers, Dec 5, 2025.