When Israel and the U.S. launched their first strikes on Iran, Ron Dermer was in Australia, about as far as one could get from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem or the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. He soon found himself, like many other Israelis wanting to get home from abroad, on a plane to Taba, Egypt, from which point he would cross back into Israel, where airspace remains restricted.

Since November, when he resigned from his official post as strategic affairs minister, Dermer has spent most of his time traveling for speaking engagements. But now, two sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed to Jewish Insider, Dermer is back again in public service. 

He may not have an official title, but he is doing what he has done for the previous three years — serving as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest and most trusted advisor. Israel’s Walla News quoted a source in the Prime Minister’s Office who said Dermer was reporting for “reserve duty,” like over 100,000 other Israelis since the outset of the war with Iran.

Netanyahu and Dermer’s relationship has been so close for the past 26 years that Dermer has been called the prime minister’s third son and nicknamed “Bibi’s brain.” With a very small inner circle and few advisors whom he truly trusts, Netanyahu views Dermer as a critical asset to his team at a time when the U.S. and Israel are making decisions that will determine the future of the Middle East for years to come.

Dermer is also known as having a good relationship with the Trump administration, and has reportedly been taking part in Netanyahu’s nightly calls with President Donald Trump. 

Those relationships have served Dermer well. When Trump presented his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza last September, he repeatedly said, “Right, Ron?” addressing his remarks to Dermer, who was sitting in the front row.

Trump and Netanyahu have been remarkably in sync since the war began on Feb. 28. But some cracks are beginning to show: After the IDF bombed an Iranian fuel depot earlier this week, Trump administration sources leaked that they thought Israel went too far. 

Trump has sent mixed messages about the expected duration of the war, saying on Monday that it is “very complete,” but also “could go further,” while Netanyahu said on Saturday night, “We are continuing with full force.” 

Dermer may well be the point person tasked to smooth over the differences that are likely to come up between the leaders. Netanyahu is counting on it.

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President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a military campaign against Iran has earned unexpected support from Western leaders who have otherwise sparred with Trump, particularly on trade policy. Canada and Australia, both of which are led by liberal parties, robustly backed the strikes that began on Saturday morning. 

“We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on Saturday. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking to reporters during a trip to India, also threw his support behind the U.S.: “Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security,” he said.

Meanwhile, three powerful European allies known as the E3 — France, Germany and the United Kingdom — were more circumspect after the military campaign began, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling on Saturday for nuclear negotiations to resume. 

But by late Sunday, as Iran doubled down on its campaign of retaliation against American and Western assets across the Middle East, the E3 nations inched toward support for Washington with a statement strongly calling on Iran to cease its “indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks.”

“We call on Iran to stop these reckless attacks immediately. We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” the E3 leaders said. “We have agreed to work together with the U.S. and allies in the region on this matter.” 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will meet at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday morning with two survivors of the deadly terrorist attack during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, Jewish Insider has learned.

The two survivors are Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi, and Ahmed al Ahmed, the civilian who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen during the attack. Ulman hosted the Hanukkah event where 15 people were killed, including his son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger.

Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd, the country’s former two-term prime minister, will also be in attendance.

A source familiar with the matter told JI that the Senate minority leader will “listen to their stories and discuss the work that he and the Australian government are doing respectively to combat antisemitism.”

Ulman and al Ahmed are currently in the U.S. together for a joint trip. Ulman brought al Ahmed to Queens, N.Y., on Tuesday to pray together and pay respects at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher rebbe. Ulman said the trip was an opportunity for the American Jewish community to express their gratitude to al Ahmed, a Syrian-born Muslim, for his heroic actions last month.

“Ahmed did what he did that day because he believed that God placed him at the scene for a reason, and that’s what gave him the strength to save lives,” Ulman said from the gravesite. “This is something people from all walks of life can and must learn from.”

Al Ahmed suffered two gunshot wounds while taking down one of the two gunmen during the Hanukkah massacre, which also left more than 40 people injured, later undergoing a successful surgery.

Following the terrorist attack at a Sydney, Australia, Hanukkah event in which 15 people were killed, American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said that it is critical for Jewish communal organizations to join together around a campaign to protect the Jewish community worldwide and win over allies in that fight.

“The community organizations need to come together around an immediate effort to respond to Bondi Beach. This is urgent for us,” Deutch said. Even if various groups have different approaches to their work, “we’ve got to show the Jewish world” and the philanthropists who back them “that we can actually work together, all of us, in ways that will protect the Jewish community in response to what happened at Bondi Beach.”

He said all Jewish community organizations need to come together on “one campaign right now that seeks to help secure the Jewish community, to help the world better understand the Jewish community, to enlist allies in this fight, and to help everyone understand why fighting antisemitism is not just the right thing to do, but it is in everyone’s self interest, because our society will be strengthened as a result.”

And he said that the Jewish community needs to stand its ground and be clear that it has the right and expectation to have its concerns and security “treated as seriously as other communities” and the “expectation that when we’re at risk, there will be action, rather than asking that everyone please consider our plight.”

“We are a proud community that has experienced challenges for thousands of years. We’re not going anywhere. If you’re not going to take this seriously, then we’re going to keep ramping up the pressure until you do,” Deutch said. “We can’t just go from one of these tragedies to the next. At other moments in American history with rising antisemitism, the community came together in ways that forced policymakers to acknowledge what we’re going through. This is one of those moments.”

He said he’s begun reaching out to colleagues on the subject.

Deutch said that he sees a level of unified horror, “passion” and “resolve” following the Bondi Beach attack akin to that he saw after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, and said that the community and organizational leadership need to build on that.

He said it’s critical to make clear to non-Jews that the fear and horror they felt at the footage of the Sydney shooting is “what we think about every single day as a community” and whenever Jews gather together.

Asked how those efforts will be more successful and more durable than similar calls seen repeatedly since Oct. 7, Deutch responded, “because we have to.”

“One coordinated campaign … isn’t going to solve the thousands of years of antisemitism but it will help us in this moment and it will show that the Jewish community can actually work together on one effort in a meaningful way, which is what members of the Jewish community everywhere in America are desperate to see,” Deutch continued.

The AJC CEO said that lawmakers and leaders have a responsibility to mind their rhetoric, emphasizing that the Bondi attack has shown “yet again” that rhetoric can prompt violence against the Jewish community.

“The need for them to ratchet down the rhetoric, to focus on the dangers that spreading antisemitism and polarization is having on society, is something that they can do without passing legislation. That needs to be an ongoing topic of conversation,” Deutch said. “They need to lead by example.”

Deutch, a former Democratic member of Congress, said that antisemitic actors on both sides of the political aisle have “not been marginalized” in the way that they should be. He said he’d “like to see more from leaders across politics and throughout the country and in every part of our society.”

Calls to “globalize the intifada” and “casual accusations of genocide” lead people to “taking action against anyone they think is responsible,” Deutch said, pointing to the Capital Jewish Museum attack in which two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed outside an AJC event in Washington, perpetrated by an alleged shooter who witnesses said shouted that he had carried out the shooting in the name of Gaza and freeing Palestine.

“What the leaders need to understand in Australia and around the world is, this has always been about terrorism,” Deutch said. “It’s terrorism against the Jewish community. These are attacks against the Jewish community to terrorize us, to put us at risk. The motives have been clear throughout.”

Referencing comments from Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin calling the party a “big tent,” Deutch said that “both parties may claim to be big tents” but have the ability to decide “who’s in the tent and who’s outside of the tent.” He said that anyone targeting Jews should be excluded, regardless of which side they’re on.

Deutch praised Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as a particularly powerful voice standing up to the “horrific” antisemitic conspiracy theories spread by far-right voices like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes, calling him a “model” for other leaders.

“There has to be an acknowledgement in both parties that there will be no place for that, for those kinds of voices,” Deutch said.

He expressed frustration with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian government’s response to the Sydney attack, which he said has ignored and de-emphasized the fact that the attack targeted Jews. 

He also highlighted Canberra’s failure to fully implement the recommendations of its own antisemitism envoy, which were presented over the summer, saying Albanese should have made such a commitment immediately after the attack.

“What the leaders need to understand in Australia and around the world is, this has always been about terrorism,” Deutch said. “It’s terrorism against the Jewish community. These are attacks against the Jewish community to terrorize us, to put us at risk. The motives have been clear throughout.”

Earlier in the year, Deutch had offered a mixed response to the administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism, particularly on college campuses. In the months since, those efforts have mostly fallen out of the headlines. But Deutch largely praised the administration’s ongoing efforts and the “serious way they’re approaching these issues.”

Of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon’s work on antisemitism, he said, “the way that she’s approaching this fight is serious and thoughtful and aggressive and that’s the way that every part of the administration should be approaching it.”

“When protesters come and stand and march and scream outside of a synagogue, it’s clear that there’s not a question of why they’re doing this. It’s antisemitism and the idea that every, every Jew is to be held responsible for whatever ills they see in Israel,” Deutch said. “It all starts with this fundamental belief that, just as it’s true for Christians and for Muslims and for Hindus and for everyone else: Jews should not be afraid simply for gathering together.”

Deutch recently sent a letter to Dhillon urging her to investigate whether there is coordination or foreign involvement in recent synagogue attacks across the country, and to enforce applicable laws to ensure access to religious institutions.

He said that AJC is open to working with the administration and supporting legislation, if necessary, to ensure that blocking access to a religious institution is banned — even if the institution is not hosting a religious service, currently a gray area in existing law.

“When protesters come and stand and march and scream outside of a synagogue, it’s clear that there’s not a question of why they’re doing this. It’s antisemitism and the idea that every, every Jew is to be held responsible for whatever ills they see in Israel,” Deutch said. “It all starts with this fundamental belief that, just as it’s true for Christians and for Muslims and for Hindus and for everyone else: Jews should not be afraid simply for gathering together.”

Deutch said that the Department of Education has made “significant steps forward in working toward a real plan” that he hopes the administration will put into effect. And he praised Justice Department senior counsel Leo Terrell for his efforts as well.

Looking at the year in retrospect, Deutch said that it brought many unexpected developments in the foreign policy realm, especially the strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israel’s strengthened geopolitical position and the return of all but one of the hostages in Gaza.

“The administration’s leadership has been significant,” Deutch said. “The president’s decision about Iran and the president’s leadership on this peace plan have given us this opportunity to think about what comes next.”

He said the administration needs to continue to squeeze Qatar and Turkey to pressure Hamas to stand down and relinquish its arms, in accordance with the next stages of the ceasefire plan. He said key administration officials also need to stay focused on moving the plan ahead.

AJC has worked for decades to cultivate ties with the Gulf and pushed for greater regional integration and normalization. Asked about how he views the prospects for Saudi-Israeli normalization, Deutch said there have been some concerning developments, but said that the U.S. and other advocates “have to stick with this.” With progress on the peace plan, he said that movement toward normalization would also be possible, he argued.

Deutch also warned that, even after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran that included U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the Islamic Republic continues to pose a threat through its international terrorism and plots against the Jewish community, its repression of its citizens, its continued desire to destroy Israel and its global efforts to foment conflict.

“Their desire to destroy Israel has not changed as a result of the strikes,” Deutch said. “So the advice to policymakers everywhere is Iran continues to be a threat, not just to Israel, but to the Jewish community around the world and more broadly beyond that, and they have to be treated that way. That requires being vigilant, both in the military context and through using economic force.”

In the wake of the deadly terrorist attack in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday in which 15 people were killed, Israel is imploring Western governments to heed its warnings about the potential for violent acts of antisemitism.

In a video statement on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “I demand that Western governments do what is necessary to fight antisemitism and provide the required safety and security for Jewish communities worldwide. They would be well-advised to heed our warnings. I demand action from them now.”

One of the recurring themes in Israeli officials’ statements after the attack on Bondi Beach, following condolences to the community, was “we told you so.” While Israel did not have intelligence pointing specifically to Sunday’s attack, it had provided information to Canberra about threats to the Australian Jewish community.

In his initial public statement following the attack, Netanyahu said, “Four months ago, I wrote a letter to the prime minister of Australia. I told him: ‘Your policy encourages terrorism. It encourages antisemitism. You call for a Palestinian state, and you are essentially giving a prize to Hamas for the terrible massacre they carried out on Oct. 7. You are legitimizing all these rioters and you are not lifting a finger to eliminate these terror hotspots. This will lead to more murders.’ [Prime Minister Anthony Albanese] did nothing.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that “the Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses.” President Isaac Herzog recalled that Israel “repeat[ed] our alerts time and again to the Australian government to seek action and fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society.” 

American lawmakers and Jewish leaders also emphasized that Canberra had been repeatedly warned about a rise in violent threats to the local Jewish community. 

In August, Netanyahu said that “history will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.” 

At the time, the post seemed to be a response to Australia’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state. However, it was harsher and more personal than Netanyahu’s statements about the 10 other countries that did the same.

Days later, Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador, saying that intelligence services found Tehran was linked to arson attacks on a kosher cafe in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne in 2024. That intelligence reportedly came from Israel and included warnings that Iran was plotting more attacks. 

Mark Regev, chair of the Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations at Reichman University and former diplomatic advisor to Netanyahu, who was born and grew up in Australia, told Jewish Insider that “it’s clear that despite the bad political working relationship between the two governments, at least the channel between security services was working well. As a result of the information received in Australia, that they verified themselves, they took a stand against the Iranians.”

Michal Cotler-Wunsh, CEO of the International Legal Forum and Israel’s former special envoy for combating antisemitism, told JI that she has met with former and current chiefs of police in Canberra, and found them to be “well aware” that, quoting former British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “antisemitism is the world’s most reliable early warning sign of a major threat to freedom, humanity and the dignity of difference.”

Regev said that usually, when Israel has reason to believe a Jewish community is in danger, it “expresses concern and talks to the relevant government.”

“Israel sees itself as the homeland of all Jewish people, so when Jews are under threat, it raises its voice,” he said.

Generally, “it is accepted that Israel has a say. Everyone understands it,” Regev said. “It’s not an accident that [Australian Foreign Minister] Penny Wong so quickly [after the attack] had a phone call with Sa’ar. That Israel has standing with Jews who are not Israeli citizens is commonly accepted in many parts of the world.”

There is little Israel can do beyond relaying warnings and intelligence, Regev said: “The Mossad can talk to local intelligence and give them information, and we can informally advise the Jewish community on how to protect synagogues, Jewish day schools and public events.”

“Ultimately, the job of protecting the Jewish community is the government” of the country in which the community lives, he added. “Israel is not in charge of law and order in Australia; that’s the Australian government.”  

“Aside from saying ‘you have to do a better job,’ I’m not sure what else we can do,” Regev said.

Cotler-Wunsh argued on this week’s episode of the Misgav Mideast Horizons Podcast that Israel can be doing much more to combat antisemitism around the world. She resigned from her position as special envoy earlier this year in part because it remained voluntary and with little to no funding or ability to set policy. (JI’s Lahav Harkov cohosts the Misgav Mideast Horizons Podcast.)

“There needs to be some sort of authority, because it seems that there is no collaboration. … As Israel’s special envoy for combating antisemitism, different from many of my counterparts in the rest of the world, in the U.S., in Canada … I was not privy to the conversations that the security [establishment] was having, and I would say that is another testament to the lack of understanding of how severe an existential threat antisemitism is as both a symptom and a weapon in this eighth front of a raging war,” Cotler-Wunsh said. 

“In no other war front would we say we have no strategy. We are just reacting,” Cotler-Wunsh lamented.

Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, told JI that the way Israeli leadership responded to the deadly terrorist attack did not take into consideration the particular concerns of Diaspora Jewry, and that their statements “go to the heart of Diaspora Jewry’s relationship with Israel and historic allegations of loyalties.”

Netanyahu and Sa’ar’s “immediate reaction is to attack the Australian government after this horrific terrorist attack for failing the Jewish community in relation to antisemitism … and I don’t disagree, but their first reaction should have been to convey condolences to the Australian government and the people of Australia,” he said.

“This is the greatest mass-casualty event [in Australia] since [1996] … This is an attack on Australia,” Leibler said. “It’s important to keep in mind, because the message you send otherwise is that the Jewish community is a fifth column. We’re not. We are passionately Zionist and that is completely consistent with being passionate Australians.”

“I don’t think people thought deeply about that, and it’s an important point,” Leibler added, saying that it may be a result of “politics in Israel [being] globally tough” and lacking “the same level of decency in the way people interact that perhaps there once was, and that does come out in the way some of the reactions were communicated.”

Regev recalled that when he was Israeli ambassador to the U.K. from 2016 to 2020, “the British Jewish community had nothing but praise for the seriousness with which [the government] took the safety of the Jewish community, and there were serious threats.” 

This week, the police forces of London and Manchester said they would arrest people who chanted “globalize the intifada” in light of the Sydney attack. 

“The Australian Jewish community is not in the same place in the way they look at the Australian government. … Jews were seen as whingers, overstating the threat, but obviously they weren’t,” he said.

“The general message [from Israel] is that Australia is not taking these things seriously enough,” Regev added. “What will [Canberra] do following this event? They say all of the right things, but are they taking steps?” 

Leibler said that Albanese’s government has “absolutely, there is no doubt, failed since Oct. 7 to thwart the antisemitism that has exploded. They bear responsibility for an environment that has allowed antisemitism to thrive.”

He emphasized that “from a basic moral perspective, it is important to acknowledge the people responsible are the perpetrators and those who inspired, educated and financed them.”

“Had this government known about this attack, they would have tried to prevent it, but they are clearly not equipped to deal with it, and the response so far has been inadequate,” he said.

Leibler called on Australia to adopt its antisemitism envoy’s recommendations, made in July, and to acknowledge that the weekly anti-Israel protests on the streets have “crossed the line from criticism of Israel to full-blown antisemitism. … Ninety percent of the Jewish community has been demonized.” At the same time, he acknowledged that the government has increased funding for security Jewish sites and introduced hate speech laws. 

“What they have not done is come to the defense of Israel’s legitimacy and model how one can criticize Israel’s policies of the day but vehemently come to its defense,” he said. “The Jewish community maybe would have disagreed with policy shifts, like recognition [of a Palestinian state] and changing [U.N.] voting patterns, but it wouldn’t have resulted in the same sense of isolation and demonization.” 

As Jews worldwide face a scourge of antisemitism — including the mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach over the weekend — U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said on Tuesday night that the U.S. “can and will confront antisemitism without apology, without hesitation and will do so everywhere around the world, including right here in the halls of the U.N.” 

“We are taking real action on those who perpetuate their antisemitic actions,” Waltz said at a Hanukkah reception hosted by Israel’s U.N. mission, held at The Jewish Museum in Manhattan. He pointed to recent U.S. sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories who has frequently bashed Israel. 

At the event, which was co-hosted by UJA-Federation of New York to mark the third night of Hanukkah, Waltz also lauded President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, calling it “not perfect,” but offering “a far better chance [at peace] than where we were just a few months ago.”

“The goal is to break that cycle of insanity where Hamas is allowed to survive, attack Israel once again, Israel responds and here we are all over again,” continued Waltz. “President Trump’s plan will break that cycle. We are going to see it through, and ultimately, he is determined — and put his name on it in a huge way, to the point that we have hundreds of soldiers on the ground in Israel — in moving all of that forward so that we never experience another Oct. 7.”

Last month, the U.N. Security Council voted 13-0 in favor of Trump’s peace plan, which Waltz called “the most positive council, probably ever.” 

“We will work in partnership with Israel, not only to fight antisemitism, but to bring peace and stability to that region so the next generation isn’t experiencing what the previous generation did. We can expand the Abraham Accords,” continued Waltz. “Let’s bring light to the darkness we’ve seen these last two years.” 

“We are determined to make the U.N. great again. We have a new term called ‘MUNGA’ — Make the U.N. Great Again,” Waltz said as the crowd erupted in laughter. 

As guests noshed on festive hors d’oeuvres — bite-sized latkes and sufganiyot — remarks were also delivered by Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon and Eric Goldstein, the outgoing CEO of UJA-Federation.

“What happened in Australia on the first night of Hanukkah was an act of terror targeting Jews,” said Danon. Among the 15 killed in the attack were 10-year-old Matilda Britvan, Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger and Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. 

“Three generations targeted simply for being Jewish. Tonight we honor their memories,” continued Danon before — together with Goldstein and Chabad’s Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky — lighting a menorah made from shrapnel of Iranian ballistic missiles intercepted by Israeli and U.S. interceptors.      

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, multiple Jewish lawmakers emphasized that the Sunday terror attack in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, came after warnings from the Australian Jewish community, and Jewish communities around the world, about the rising violent threats they face —  warnings that have often gone ignored, the lawmakers said.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said that Australian Jews and others around the world have been warning “for far too long” about the “alarming, explosive rise in violent antisemitism.”

“That threat, those warnings, have fallen on deaf ears, and we are living with those consequences now,” Wasserman Schultz said. “I hope that this tragedy is the wake-up call that world leaders need to truly stand up and protect their Jewish communities from antisemitism, whether that manifests online or in person.”

She said that leaders around the world “must do better.”

“Lives are at stake. This is not pretend. These enemies of the Jewish people are not playing games. They mean to end our existence as a people,” she continued. “We will not allow that. Our allies and friends must help us make sure that never happens.”

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, emphasized that the attack was “not predicted” but “it was predictable.”

“For too long, the Jewish community in Australia was saying to the authorities, saying to the government, ‘Antisemitism is a cancer eating away at the soul of the nation, and it’s going to result in the death of Jews in the land,’ and that’s what we saw on Sunday,” Schneider continued.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) emphasized that Australia’s special envoy for antisemitism had in July offered a plan to combat antisemitism, but the plan had not been fully implemented by the Australian government.

The briefing was hosted by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) and the American Jewish Committee.

Gottheimer said that the public outcry he had seen since the Sydney massacre “is a sign to me that there is a recognition that we can do something if we stand together.”

“We should all be going after the root of the rising scourge of antisemitic hate around the world,” he added. “We must stand up to our foreign adversaries like the government of Iran, and the terrorist organizations that they support, for driving this hatred and violence for the Jewish people.”

Lawler said that the lawmakers had gathered “united in a bipartisan way to say that we will not tolerate this. We will not accept this as the norm that our Jewish brothers and sisters have to live in fear of being murdered while practicing their faith.”

AJC CEO Ted Deutch, who previously represented a South Florida House district, urged lawmakers to act promptly to confirm Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun as the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism and to provide adequate funding for the office, to strongly condemn the attack, to publicly stand with the Jewish community and to investigate foreign-backed antisemitism and influence operations targeting Jews globally.

“In the U.S. and with our allies, we’ve got to take concrete steps to strengthen our intelligence and counterterrorism cooperation, protect our communities, to preserve democratic stability and to prevent massacres like the one that happened on Bondi Beach,” Deutch continued.

William Daroff, the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said, “If there was ever any doubt that anti-Zionism and antisemitism are one and the same, the attacks since Oct. 7 erase it. Jews are being targeted not for policy, but for presence. Not for politics, but for being Jewish, visible and alive.”

Marina Rosenberg, the Anti-Defamation League’s vice president of international affairs, said that she and a global coalition of Jewish leaders had visited Australia just days before the massacre to “sound the alarm on the dangers of surging antisemitism, calling on officials to act before it was too late. Tragically, for our brothers and sisters in Australia, it is too late.”

Rosenberg also emphasized that the attack is part of a “global pattern targeting Jewish communities,” not an isolated incident. She said that Congress must boost security funding for religious institutions and confirm Kaploun.

Other lawmakers who attended the briefing included Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Jonathan Jackson (D-OH), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Grace Meng (D-NY), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Wesley Bell (D-MO), Joe Wilson (R-SC) and George Latimer (D-NY).

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, after Netanyahu linked the terror attack in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, to Canberra’s support for a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu highlighted in a speech on Sunday that he had warned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that Canberra’s recognition of a Palestinian state was fueling antisemitism and endangering Australian Jews. Netanyahu further accused Albanese of failing to take action against antisemitism.

Sanders issued a statement in response on Tuesday: “No, Mr. Netanyahu. Speaking out on behalf of the Palestinian people is not antisemitic. Opposing the disgraceful policies of your extremist government is not antisemitic. Condemning your genocidal war, which has killed more than 70,000 people — mostly women and children — is not antisemitic. Demanding that your government stop bombing hospitals and starving children is not antisemitic.”

He said that “we must continue to oppose antisemitism and all forms of racism and bigotry. At the same time, we must demand a world in which international law and human rights are respected by all governments, without exception.”

Sanders opted against signing onto a joint statement issued Monday by Jewish Senate Democrats condemning the Sydney attack. Asked about his decision not to join the collective statement from Jewish Senate Democrats, a Sanders spokesperson pointed JI to Sanders’ comment on Sunday mourning the attack, in which the Vermont senator called antisemitism “a disgusting and cowardly ideology” that is “growing worldwide” and added, “we must be equally committed to fighting all forms of” bigotry. 

The co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism are urging Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to act more forcefully to protect Australia’s Jewish community and implement months-old recommendations from the country’s antisemitism envoy.

In a letter to Albanese sent Monday, the ten lawmakers said that the attack, which killed at least 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration, “comes in the wake of the Australian Jewish community repeatedly raising the alarm and urging swift action to counter the spread of unchecked antisemitic rhetoric and demonstrations occurring in Australia for far too long.”

The lawmakers said that there have been repeated “warning signs,” including firebombings of synagogues, graffiti, assaults and threats of violence, which “have now led to a tragic reality.”

They noted that Jillian Segal, the Australian special envoy to combat antisemitism, released 49 recommendations to be implemented across a range of institutions in July, and questioned what the Australian government has done to enact that plan and how it will protect the Jewish community going forward.

The lawmakers called on Albanese to “move swiftly and decisively” to implement those recommendations.

“While we appreciate Australia joining the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism led by the United States, we urge your government to implement and actively utilize this document and its recommendations within,” the letter continues. “We also encourage you to further insulate Australia from malign foreign influence, like that of Iran and possibly others, which has been found to be supporting antisemitic attacks in Australia.”

The letter states that Australia’s designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as a terrorist organization “is an important first step, but it cannot be the last step if Australia is to address the antisemitism brewing at home while also thwarting collusion from abroad.”

The letter was signed by Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Don Bacon (R-NE), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Randy Weber (R-TX), Marc Veasey (D-TX) and Dan Meuser (R-PA).

The deadly terrorist attack during a Hanukkah celebration in Australia on Sunday is sparking a renewed debate within the Democratic Party over anti-Israel slogans including “globalize the intifada,” and whether such extreme rhetoric fuels antisemitic prejudice that can lead to violence against Jews.

Some candidates and elected officials in New York City, where recent anti-Israel demonstrations have raised alarms within the largest Jewish community in the world, are tying such rhetoric directly to the carnage at Bondi Beach in Sydney — after two gunmen killed at least 15 people and wounded more than three dozen in the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in Australian history.

Eric Adams, the outgoing mayor, said on Sunday that “the attack in Sydney is exactly what it means to ‘globalize the intifada,’” and cast the shooting as “the real-world application of that call to violence.”

Erik Bottcher, a city councilman who is among several Democrats now competing to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in a heavily Jewish district in Manhattan, said that, in the wake of “an attack like Bondi Beach, we should be unequivocal: antisemitic violence is unacceptable, full stop.”

“And we should also be honest that slogans like ‘globalize the intifada’ don’t advance justice, they escalate hostility and make Jewish communities feel targeted,” Bottcher continued in a statement shared with Jewish Insider on Monday. “Leaders should be lowering the temperature.”

Alex Bores, a state assemblyman also seeking to replace Nadler, called the attack “horrifying and despicable” and said “antisemitism is a growing threat around the world,” while noting that “New York City has a special responsibility to confront it head‑on.”

“Any rhetoric or actions that dehumanize Jews, incite violence or put Jewish communities at risk must be called out and stopped, without exceptions. I have repeatedly condemned the use of the slogan ‘globalize the intifada,’” Bores told JI. “I believe that phrase, regardless of a specific speaker’s intent, has been tied inextricably to violent attacks, strikes fear in many New Yorkers and has no place in our city.”

Micah Lasher, a Jewish state assemblyman and another Democrat in the race, asked rhetorically in a social media post Sunday whether there was “any question” that “the spread of violence against Jews is intertwined with the social acceptability of violent rhetoric directed at Jews.”

“People of good will must confront this reality,” he concluded.

Such discourse is likely to intensify in next year’s primaries, where several anti-Israel candidates in New York City are seeking to challenge incumbent Democrats over their positions on Gaza and ties to AIPAC, the pro-Israel advocacy group increasingly demonized by the far left.

For now, however, those challengers were largely reluctant to weigh in on the heated rhetoric used by anti-Israel protesters — including just last month at at a synagogue in Manhattan where demonstrators chanted such phrases as “globalize the intifada” and “death to the IDF” — and if such language deserves further scrutiny amid heightened security concerns in the Jewish community following the Bondi Beach attack.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, an organizer in Harlem who helped to lead anti-Israel protests at Columbia University and recently launched a bid to challenge Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman who is now challenging Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) in the Bronx and who has drawn charges of hypocrisy for pivoting from his past outspoken support for Israel and close relations with AIPAC, also did not return a request for comment — even as he condemned the shooting in Australia.

For his part, Torres, a pro-Israel stalwart and top ally of the Jewish community, described the attack as “part of a global surge in antisemitism fueled by an ever-escalating campaign of demonization and dehumanization.”

A spokesperson for Brad Lander, the outgoing city comptroller mounting a newly launched bid to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in a left-leaning district covering Lower Manhattan as well as parts of Brooklyn, likewise declined to comment, instead referring to his “several public comments about the Sydney shooting.”

The spokesperson also cited previous remarks in which Lander voiced reservations about calls to “globalize the intifada,” shortly after Zohran Mamdani, who is now the mayor-elect of New York City, had faced widespread backlash for refusing to denounce the slogan. 

“Maybe you don’t mean to be saying it’s open season on Jews everywhere in the world, but that’s what I hear,” Lander, a top Jewish ally of Mamdani, said in comments in June. “And I’d like to hear that from other people.”

A spokesperson for Goldman, a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat, also declined to weigh in on the matter.

Mamdani, who condemned the Bondi Beach attack as a “vile act of antisemitic terror” in a social media post on Sunday, has refused to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada,” but has vowed to discourage its usage.

In a Friday interview with WCBS in New York, Mamdani responded to feedback from a prominent local rabbi, Ammiel Hirsch, who expressed concern about the mayor-elect’s “ideological hostility to the very existence of Israel” and said that “anti-Zionist rhetoric and anti-Israel policies will threaten Jewish safety” in the city.

“Rabbi Hirsch is entitled to his opinions,” Mamdani stated. “The positions that I’ve made clear on Israel and on Palestine, these are part of universal beliefs of equal rights and the necessity of it for all people everywhere.”

A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to a request for comment.

Despite reluctance among Mamdani and some of his allies to now more openly grapple with rhetoric many Jews have found threatening, one progressive challenger to Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), a pro-Israel incumbent in Queens endorsed by AIPAC, said that he has come to view phrases such as “globalize the intifada” as harmful, thanks to conversations with his Jewish friends.

Chuck Park, a former City Council aide and foreign service officer who has criticized Meng’s donations from AIPAC, said “Jewish people around the world — from Bondi Beach to Bushwick — are very scared right now,” while adding “it is the job of non-Jewish leaders like myself to listen to them.”

“When I listen to my Jewish friends,” he said in an interview with JI on Monday, “they tell me that they hear” the phrase particularly “as a call to violence against them.”

“The swastika is no longer a Buddhist symbol of good fortune, right?” Park added. “The pointed white hood is no longer a Catholic symbol of penance. And in a very similar way, that phrase is not a call for the liberation of an oppressed people, and I think it has instilled and maybe even inspired dangerous attacks on Jewish people around the world.”

For the Jews of Sydney, Australia, the horror that unfolded on the popular Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration was a shock, but not a surprise.

Nor was it a surprise for much of the global Jewish community, which, while always on alert and monitoring threats, scales up its efforts around holidays — a task even more critical in the wake of antisemitic terror attacks earlier this year on Passover and Yom Kippur. 

But the deadly attack in Sydney seemed — somehow — to have caught Australian officials by surprise, despite a warning from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu four months ago over the potential for attacks against the Australian Jewish community, as well as a spate of attacks targeting Jewish institutions, some of which were orchestrated by Iran.

An Israeli tourist who was at Bondi during the attack who spoke to JI on Sunday said that he sensed “that [Australian authorities] don’t know how to deal with mass casualty events. … I didn’t see anything on the news for almost an hour, and when I asked locals why they weren’t calling news hotlines or reporting on news apps, they said Australia doesn’t have that. In Israel, it would be in the news three minutes later.” 

Indeed, within an hour of the onset of the attack, Israeli news networks were covering the carnage. International news outlets and networks, as well as Australian media, were slow to note that the attack had taken place at a Hanukkah celebration. Three hours after the attack, the Sydney Morning Herald’s top story was headlined “Ten Dead in Bondi Beach Shooting.” The subhead, too — “Multiple dead, two police officers among injured after shots fired at Bondi Beach” — gave no indication that the attack had taken place at a Hanukkah celebration, and that rabbis and Jewish community members had been shot.

It was a year ago this week that JI reported on concerns from Australian Jewish leaders over Canberra’s response to the antisemitism that dramatically increased following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and ensuing war between Israel and Hamas.

A travel advisory issued by the Simon Wiesenthal Center more than a year ago specifically cited the Australian government’s response, saying that “in failing to act against the demonization of Jews, Israel and Zionism on the streets of Australian cities, the Australian government has allowed violence against Jews and Israelis to be normalized.” 

“Moreover,” the advisory continued in an ominous and prescient warning, “authorities have failed to take necessary measures to protect Jewish communities from increasingly belligerent and violent targeting by Islamists and other extremists.”

Speaking to Australian media, Jillian Segal, Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, said on Monday that antisemitism had been “seeping into society for many years and we have not come out strongly enough against it.”


It was five months ago that Segal released an extensive plan for Canberra to address rising antisemitism. The plan, which faced pushback from critics at the time, had only partially been put into effect, Segal told the Australian Jewish News after yesterday’s attack.

Jewish leaders from around the world had been in Australia in the days prior to the Bondi Beach attack as part of the J7 Task Force, a group representing the world’s largest Jewish Diaspora communities, that had traveled specifically to Australia out of concern over rising antisemitism down under.

“We came to Australia because we saw the red lights flashing — because the Australian Jewish community has been under siege since Oct. 7, 2023, facing a nearly fivefold increase in antisemitic incidents since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel,” Marina Rosenberg, the senior vice president of international affairs at Anti-Defamation League, wrote in an op-ed published in eJewishPhilanthropy this morning. “In meetings with high-level government officials and members of Parliament, our message was explicit and urgent: What begins with words can end with violence.”.

“Tragically,” Rosenberg continued, “those warnings were not acted upon fast enough.”

U.S. officials and lawmakers across the political spectrum are condemning the terrorist attack at a Chabad Hanukkah celebration Sunday outside Sydney, Australia, tying the murder of 15 attendees to the rise of antisemitism across the world. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the United States “strongly condemns” the attack and that “antisemitism has no place in this world.”

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said the “horrific and deadly terrorist attack” is a “sickening reminder that antisemitism remains a global threat. Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States will confront this hatred — at the U.N. and around the world — without apology or hesitation.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said he is “in touch with our counterparts in Australia” regarding the attack and is “providing the requested assistance,” while Attorney General Pam Bondi called it “heartbreaking news.”

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee noted, as did several others, that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s original statement on the attack did not specify its antisemitic nature. “The disgraceful statement from Australia PM never mentioned it was jihadist attack on Jews on first day of Hanukkah. Hope he’s ashamed of antisemitic statements past year,” Huckabee wrote on X. 

On the Hill, lawmakers from both parties also expressed their shock and sadness. All 25 Jewish members of the House, on both the Republican and Democratic sides, issued a joint statement remembering the “Jewish families in Australia” who were “grotesquely targeted with hate and murderous intent.”

“Sadly, this attack does not come as a surprise to the Jewish community of Sydney who have been raising a clarion call for local and national authorities to take concrete steps against a rising tide of antisemitism,” the members, organized by Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), wrote. “Antisemitism is a cancer that eats at the core of society, whether in Australia, the United States, or anywhere it is allowed to take root and grow. We join leaders around the globe in condemning this evil act and in calling for justice, peace, and unwavering support for those affected. We also call on all leaders to do better standing up to antisemitism, bigotry, and hate.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the “tragic news” is “another wake-up call.”

“Jewish people must be free to practice their faith openly and without fear. Antisemitism must be confronted and defeated wherever it appears,” he wrote on X.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said in a statement he was “horrified by the attack” and that it is “our collective responsibility to aggressively eradicate the poison of antisemitism whenever and wherever it is found.” 

“Today, as the Jewish community throughout America gathers with their loved ones to celebrate Hanukkah, the New York Police Department and law enforcement resources across the country must be vigorously deployed to keep everyone safe. It is my sincere hope that the story of Hanukkah and the candles that will shine on windowsills in homes around the world will bring needed light and resolve that the powerful resilience of the Jewish people that has existed for millennia will continue to endure always and forever,” Jeffries wrote.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the attack “is beyond appalling” and “a shocking reminder that antisemitism and hate is not only toxic and far too present and widespread around the world, it is deadly. It must be vigorously condemned, confronted and overcome.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called it “an act of barbaric, antisemitic terrorism.”

“It was the outrageous, but all-too-predictable result of far too many leaders around the world tolerating and even fomenting hatred of Jews, instead of countering the evil of antisemitism with moral clarity and unrelenting condemnation.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) connected the attack to other antisemitic acts of violence: “Tree of Life to 10/07 to Bondi Beach: antisemitism is a rising and deadly global scourge,” he wrote. “I stand and grieve with Israel and the Jewish global community.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) said, “Terror and violence against Jews are part of a global surge in antisemitism fueled by an ever-escalating campaign of demonization and dehumanization. Yet the Australian Prime Minister’s initial statement expressed sympathy for ‘every affected person,’ conspicuously omitting any mention of Jews or Jew-hatred: a sin of omission that constitutes a fundamental failure of moral clarity at the very moment it is most urgently needed.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) called it “heinous” and said, “We must root out the rot of this most ancient hatred to bring safety and security for all humanity. Never Again is NOW.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) called the “targeted terrorist attack … appalling and sickening,” and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) said she was “horrified by the news of yet another disgusting act of antisemitic violence … Antisemitism has no place in our world.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) wrote, “Allowing antisemitism in Australia created the environment for this despicable act. Globalize the antifada [sic] is not a slogan — it’s a promise. A promise we all have to stop.”

Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mark Warner (D-VA), Tim Scott (R-FL), John Curtis (R-UT), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Jim Banks (R-IN) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Rudy Yakym (R-IN), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), and Shontel Brown (D-OH) also offered their condemnation of the attack and prayers to the victims, among others.

Deborah Lipstadt, former special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism under the Biden administration, called out New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for contributing to rhetoric that she said fueled the attack. “Mr. MayorElect, when you refuse to condemn & only ‘discourage’ use of the term ‘Globalize the Intifada, you help facilitate (not cause) the thinking that leads to Bondi Beach,” she wrote of Mamdani. 

In a subsequent post, she asked, “Some asked has Mamdani condemned this? Not yet but he will. Strongly. But the time 2speak is before tragedies. The ‘wink & nod’ to Jew-hatred by facilitating language that leads to murdering Jews is unacceptable — and need we say it — so is murdering Jews.”

Mamdani did issue a statement about the attack, which he called “a vile act of antisemitic terror.” 

“Another Jewish community plunged into mourning and loss, a holiday of light so painfully reduced to a day of darkness. This attack is merely the latest, most horrifying iteration in a growing pattern of violence targeted at Jewish people across the world. Too many no longer feel safe to be themselves, to express their faith publicly, to worship in their synagogues without armed security stationed outside. What happened at Bondi is what many Jewish people fear will happen in their communities too,” the mayor-elect wrote.

Jewish organizations also came out in force to share their condemnation and pain. 

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Community, said he was “Horrified. But not surprised.”

“Bondi Beach is one of the most beautiful places in the world. And Jewish kids celebrating the joyous holiday of Hanukkah with their families is likewise one of the most beautiful images of our people. Both have now been ripped to pieces. … This week, we will be reaching out to leaders from around the world to unite around a shared commitment to eradicate the evil scourge of antisemitism. Take our call. Stand with the Jewish community.”  

“But don’t wait to speak out,” he continued. “Do it today. Wherever you live. If you are a leader, then lead. Stand with your Jewish community where you are. Yes, reach out privately to your friends in the community to express your support. But speak out as well for all the world to hear. Everyone who looks up to you needs to hear you condemn the antisemitic slaughter in Australia and the ongoing threats to our community everywhere. We are 16 million people in the world. We cannot do this on our own. Stand with us.” 

William Daroff and Betsy Berns Korn, respectively the CEO and chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, recalled their own recent trip to Australia in a statement, including meeting with a Chabad emissary who was killed in the attack: “Just last week, we joined a delegation of Jewish leaders from the seven largest Diaspora Jewish communities in Australia as they confronted a sharp rise in antisemitism. … This past Shabbat, we attended morning services at Chabad of Bondi Beach. We davened in their beautiful new building and saw a community full of warmth, faith, and energy. After services, we had the honor of sharing Shabbat lunch in the home of Rabbi Yehoram and Shternie Ulman with their family, including Rabbi Eli Schlanger and his wife, Chaya. We are devastated to learn that Rabbi Schlanger, z’l, was among those murdered today.”

“Our hearts are with the families of those killed and injured, and with our brothers and sisters in Sydney as they confront this brutal tragedy. The story of Chanukah speaks to Jewish survival and resilience in the face of persecution. This attack on the Bondi Beach community strikes at the heart of the entire Jewish people. We pray for the swift recovery of the injured and mourn those whose lives were taken in this senseless antisemitic act,” Daroff and Korn wrote.

Karen Paikin Barall, chief policy officer at The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, wrote in a post, “In 2008, as Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, I traveled to Australia amid rising antisemitic incidents and a troubling lack of response from law enforcement and government leaders. Australia is home to the largest population of Holocaust survivors outside Israel. The Bondi attack is not isolated. It reflects years of inaction and minimization. Antisemitism doesn’t fade when ignored, it grows more violent.”

The Orthodox Union called the attack “a direct assault on Jewish life.”

“Chanukah is the most public of Jewish holidays. We mark the defeat of ancient antisemitic persecution by lighting our menorahs openly and unapologetically. That is precisely why this attack matters. It was meant to intimidate, silence, and drive Jews out of the public square. It will fail. At a time when antisemitism is being normalized, excused, and even justified in public discourse, this attack is no longer shocking. It is the predictable result of unchecked incitement, extremist rhetoric, and repeated failures by leaders to draw red lines,” the organization wrote.

“Calls to ‘globalize the intifada’ are not slogans. They are threats, and they lead directly to violence. … Silence, moral equivocation, and inaction are no longer acceptable. Jews have the right to celebrate their faith openly and safely, without fear, anywhere in the world.”

Democratic Majority for Israel said the attack “makes painfully clear that antisemitic violence remains a grave and growing threat. Jews must be able to gather, pray, and celebrate their religion openly and safely. From the Tree of Life to Poway, from Boulder to Washington, D.C., and now Bondi Beach, the rise of violent antisemitism demands urgent and sustained action from our leaders and communities.”

“At this moment of darkness, as we prepare to begin Hanukkah, we draw strength from the story of the Maccabees, who faced hatred and persecution with courage and resilience. That spirit endures today.”

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs wrote, “Our hearts are shattered for those murdered and injured, all those impacted, and the entire Australian Jewish community. And we are angry: That Jews around the world are now beginning Hanukkah fearful of showing up and celebrating. That after years of us sounding the alarm about the crisis of antisemitism, our leaders and our society have still failed to truly recognize and effectively address this threat. That too many loud voices seek to politicize and exploit our real, legitimate fears — rather than taking the comprehensive, whole-of-society action necessary to keep us safe.”

The Jewish Federations of North America, Anti-Defamation League, Secure Community Network, Community Security Service and Community Security Initiative issued a joint statement with increased security recommendations for “all Jewish organizations that are hosting events in the coming days to undertake.”

At least 15 people were killed on Sunday in an attack at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia, in what authorities described as a targeted terror attack on the Jewish community.

The event was hosted by Chabad of Bondi, a neighborhood with a major Jewish community in Sydney. 

Two gunmen opened fire with long rifles from outside the gated-off event, killing at least 15, and injuring 40. Among the victims were Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the Chabad emissary to Bondi, Holocaust survivor and immigrant from the Former Soviet Union Alex Kleytman, 87, and a 10-year-old girl identified by the Australian press only as Matilda.

The terrorists were Naveed Akram, an unemployed bricklayer and his father, Sajid, a grocer, who was killed at the scene. Naveed was shot, as well, and was in critical condition in the hospital on Monday. They were known to Australian Federal Police, which were investigating their possible ties to the ISIS offshoot the Islamic State of East Asia. 

Police also found unexploded bombs in the area, near Sydney’s most popular beach, as well as additional weapons in the Akrams’ car.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, the province in which Sydney is located, said that the shooting was a “targeted attack on the Sydney Jewish community.” NSW Police declared the attack a terrorist incident. One of the two assailants was identified by authorities as Naveed Akram, and was killed at the scene.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said following the attack that his government would implement parts of its special envoy on antisemitism’s recommendations, including additional funding for security. 

“This senseless attack is one which is an act of terror. It is aimed at creating fear. But we will stand with the Jewish community and Jewish Australians at this time,” Albanese said in a statement to the press.

Kobi Farkash, an Israeli tourist in Sydney and an eyewitness to the attack, told Jewish Insider that he went to the beach and happened upon the Chabad event.

“It was surrounded by a simple fence. There were four or five Jewish security guards without weapons, and maybe two police officers there before the attack,” he recalled. “Someone from Chabad, a man with a kippah and tzitzit, invited me in … he told the security guard to let me in because I’m Israeli. I put on tefillin, ate a sufganiya [jelly doughnut]. There were activities for kids, like at any community event.”

After spending some time at the event, Farkash said, “I heard gunshots … I saw people running and someone on the floor, bleeding. I started running away with everyone else.” 

“People were running in all directions, like the Nova,” Farkash said, referring to the Hamas massacre of revelers at a rave in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. “It’s an event where people are celebrating and happy, and you can’t believe this happened a moment later. It felt like the Nova.”

When things seemed quieter, Farkash returned to the scene and found that first responders “were working very slowly. In Israel, we’re used to this and things work much faster. The ambulances, police, news reports, come sooner. My sense was that [Australian authorities] don’t know how to deal with mass casualty events. … I didn’t see anything on the news for almost an hour, and when I asked locals why they weren’t calling news hotlines or reporting on news apps, they said Australia doesn’t have that. In Israel, it would be in the news three minutes later.” 

“I have never been in a terrorist attack in Israel,” Farkash, who grew up in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, said. “It’s crazy that I went to the end of the world and experienced a terror attack here.”

Lissy Abrahams was walking with her adult daughter to a Bar Mitzvah party being held nearby and parked by where the Chabad party was being held. As they were walking, she and her daughter heard gunshots.

“We looked at each other and said ‘run,’” Abrahams recounted to JI. “I was wearing high heels that were strapped on and couldn’t just flick them off. My daughter was wearing flat shoes, and she kept coming back for me, but I told her to go. … She looked at me and made a decision that she couldn’t.”

Abrahams and her daughter saw a storage area, where lifeguards keep their equipment, and ran down to the beach to take shelter with beachgoers, including parents holding babies.

“People were standing in the doorway and didn’t know what to do, but as Jews, we understood what was going on,” she said. “I said ‘this is a terrorist attack. We need to be very careful and we need to pull this [garage] door down.’ … We needed a barrier. I had to be very firm with them, because they didn’t understand, but I had Oct. 7 footage in my mind.”

“Time was distorted, it was moving fast and slow, so I have no idea how long it took, but someone from the [local] council came and said we can go. We decided to trust that advice and go out … My daughter and I just ran. … We hitchhiked; we jumped into a stranger’s van. … We were so lucky,” she said.

Abrahams said she kept thinking about the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel: “It really struck me how many decisions I had to make and I had no idea where they would lead me. I didn’t know how many terrorists there were. I was making decisions that could have ended my life. … Jews on Oct. 7, they just had to make decisions, too.” 

Abrahams was part of a group of Sydney residents who would meet weekly to read the names of the hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attacks, and she said she was very moved to see the letter written by the Hostage Families Forum to the community.

“On Saturday [the group] met for lunch. We were happy; we could breathe; we were proud of our commitment. And there we were the next day, with our community suffering,” she said. “We are feeling the love from Israel and around the world. We are one big Jewish family.”

Abrahams spoke to JI on Monday, after returning to Bondi Beach to retrieve her car, and said she saw Chabad rabbis had set up a booth at the site to help people put on Tefilin: “These are the cousins, the brothers-in-law and the best friends of people killed.”

Prominent pro-Israel activist Arsen Ostrovsky, who recently moved back to Australia after living in Israel for 13 years to head the advocacy group Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, was injured by a bullet that grazed his head during the attack. His wife and two daughters also attended the event, but were not injured.

“I was here with my family, it was a Hanukkah event, there were hundreds of people, there were children, families, elderly, enjoying themselves,” Ostrovsky told Australia’s News 9. “All of a sudden, there’s absolute chaos, there’s gunfire, people ducking. … I saw blood gush in front of me, I saw people hit. … My only concern was where are my kids? Where is my wife? … I survived Oct. 7, I lived in Israel 13 years. We came here only two weeks ago to work with the Jewish community, to fight antisemitism, to fight this bloodthirsty ravaging hatred. … We’ve lived through worse. We’re going to get through this and we’re going to get the bastards that did this.”

“It was an absolute bloodbath, blood gushing everywhere. Oct. 7, that’s the last time I saw this. I never thought I’d see this in Australia, not in my lifetime,” Ostrovsky added.

Ostrovsky’s brother-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Creditor, founder of Rabbis Against Gun Violence, posted a photo of Ostrovsky being evacuated, writing, “Antisemitism is blasphemy against life, and I know this will not slow my brave brother Arsen down. It will fuel his work with AIJAC … on behalf of the Jewish community in Sydney … All Jews are family and are responsible for one another. In this case, that hit even closer to home. We will not be quiet. We will not hide. We are Jews. We are proud. We are strong. And we have work to do in the world, and this will not slow us down. Am Yisrael Chai!” 

There has been a sharp increase in antisemitic attacks in Australia since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent war. In the decade before October 2023, there was an average of 342 anti-Jewish incidents a year in Australia; since then, the average has risen to 1,858. Two days after the Oct. 7 attacks, thousands gathered outside the Sydney Opera House to protest Israel and chanted “f*ck the Jews.” Incidents since October 2024, the period that the latest antisemitism report from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry measures, included an arson attack on a kosher caterer, burning of cars and vandalizing buildings in a Sydney suburb, and the firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne.

Australia expelled the Iranian ambassador earlier this year and designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, after intelligence services found that Iran was linked to the arson attacks. 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, “The heart of the entire nation of Israel skips a beat at this very moment, as we pray for the recovery of the wounded … and we pray for those who lost their lives.”

Herzog and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar noted that Israel had warned Australia that it needs to do more against antisemitism.

“We repeat our alerts time and again to the Australian government to seek action and fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society,” Herzog stated. 

Sa’ar posted that the attack is “the results of the antisemitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the antisemitic and inciting calls of ‘globalize the Intifada’ … The Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses!” 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday is being overshadowed by European moves to isolate Israel, with the U.K., as well as Canada and Australia recognizing a Palestinian state on Sunday and more to come, as well as an upcoming EU vote on sanctions against Israel.

Netanyahu released a statement, in which he said he has “a clear message to the leaders who recognize a Palestinian state after the terrible massacre of Oct. 7: You are giving a massive prize to terror. … It will not happen. There will not be a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.”

The prime minister hinted that Israel will increase settlement activity in response: “For years I prevented the establishment of this terror state facing great pressures, domestic and foreign … Not only that, we doubled the Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. The response to the latest attempt to force a terror state on us in the heart of our land will be given after my return from the U.S. Wait.”

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that his country is “acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution. That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state. At the moment, we have neither.” 

He pushed back against the Israeli argument that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time acts as a reward for Hamas, arguing that “our call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of [Hamas’] hateful vision. … This solution is not a reward for Hamas, because it means Hamas can have no future.” 

Hamas, however, praised the recognition as an “important move” and called for it to be accompanied by ending the “Judaization of the West Bank and Jerusalem, Israel’s isolation and Israel’s leaders brought before international court,” as well as the recognition of the Palestinians’ “natural right to resistance.”

The High-Level Conference on Palestine Statehood, led by France and Saudi Arabia, is set to take place Monday, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Nearly a dozen countries have said they would recognize a Palestinian state as part of that effort, following the announcements of the U.K., Canada and Australia on Sunday.

French President Emmanuel Macron argued in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News that “recognition of a Palestinian state is the best way to isolate Hamas … What they want is to destroy [Israel], but if we consider that the Palestinian state will always have the objective to destroy Israel, how [do] they want to build a sustainable future? There is no way.” 

A recent poll commissioned by the French-Jewish umbrella organization CRIF found that 71% of French people reject the recognition of a Palestinian state before the hostages are freed and Hamas gives up power. In the U.K., a survey in The Telegraph showed 87% of Britons disagree with recognition of a Palestinian state without preconditions, including 89% of Labour voters. A YouGov poll, however, found that 44% of Britons supported the move, while 18% were opposed and 37% unsure.

U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner noted that in conjunction with his announcement of Palestinian state recognition, Macron called for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, the demilitarization of Hamas and the establishment of strong governance for the Palestinians as preconditions for any recognition of Palestinian statehood. “These were France’s own conditions for recognition of a Palestinian state. How can France move forward with next week’s vote when none of these have been met?” Kushner said.

Netanyahu, who was Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. from 1984-1988, is known to relish his addresses to the U.N. General Assembly, embracing theatrical props, puns and long pauses on a platform where he hopes to capture the world’s attention for Israel’s benefit. 

After his UNGA speeches, Netanyahu holds court, with other leaders visiting him in a conference room in Turtle Bay. This year, he is expected to meet with Argentinian President Javier Milei, the leaders of Paraguay and Serbia and New York Mayor Eric Adams, and there are reports that he will meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa ahead of a possible security agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem. Then, Netanyahu is expected to fly to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Economy Ministry, which oversees foreign trade, have been pushing back against proposed European Union sanctions. The European Commission proposed the roll-back of relations between the bloc and Israel after it “found that actions taken by the Israeli government represent a breach of essential elements relating to respect for human rights” given “the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza following the military intervention of Israel, the blockade of humanitarian aid, the intensifying of military operations and the decision of the Israeli authorities to advance the settlement plan in the so-called E1 area of the West Bank, which further undermines the two-state solution.” 

The proposal, if accepted, would suspend free trade between Israel and the European Union, its largest trade partner.

A source in Brussels estimated that the move would cost Israel 227 million Euros ($266 million) in customs duties per year. 

A date has not yet been set for voting on the suspension of free trade, which requires a qualified majority, also known as a “double majority,” meaning 55% of member states, and states representing 65% of the EU population, with at least four states opposed.

Hungary and the Czech Republic said they would oppose the proposal, following calls between their foreign ministers and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. 

Sa’ar called the proposal “morally and politically distorted.”

“Moves against Israel will harm Europe’s own interests,” Sa’ar warned. “Israel will continue to struggle, with the help of its friends in Europe, against attempts to harm it while it is in the midst of an existential war. Steps against Israel will be answered accordingly, and we hope we will not be required to take them.”

Economy Minister Nir Barkat sent letters to Germany, Hungary, Czechia, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Cyprus, Croatia and Latvia asking them to oppose the measure to suspend free trade.

The European Commission also suspended 20 million Euros ($23.5 million) in projects with Israel, dealing with civil service training and regional-EU cooperation related to the Abraham Accords, through 2027. The commission was able to end the cooperation without a vote and noted in repeated statements that it was exempting “civil society and Yad Vashem.” 

In addition, the European Commission proposed sanctions against Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, as well as “violent settlers” and 10 members of the Hamas politburo, which would require a unanimous vote by EU member states. The ban on Israelis is unlikely to be approved, especially not the cabinet ministers.

In another sign of Israel’s increased isolation in Europe, several countries’ public broadcasters said they would boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel were to take part, as it usually does.

Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland and Ireland have said they will not participate in the contest along with Israel, and Belgium threatened to follow suit. 

Israeli public broadcaster Kan said that it will continue to be “a significant part in this cultural event, which cannot become political.”

“Israel is one of the most successful participants in the Eurovision contest — in the past seven years its songs and representatives have finished in 5th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st place,” Kan CEO Golan Yochpaz said. 

Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, whose country is due to host the Eurovision next year, posted on X that the contest “is a symbol of peace, unity, and cultural exchange — not an instrument for sanctions.” 

A group of 28 Republican lawmakers in the Senate and House wrote to the leaders of Australia, Canada, France and the U.K. urging them to walk back their plans to recognize a Palestinian state this month and threatening potential retaliation if they proceed.

“This is a reckless policy that undermines prospects for peace. It sets the dangerous precedent that violence, not diplomacy, is the most expedient means for terrorist groups like Hamas to achieve their political aims,” the Republicans, led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), wrote. “Accordingly, we respectfully request that you reconsider your decision, especially as Hamas continues to hold Israeli citizens hostage while still refusing to agree to a ceasefire.”

The Republicans suggested that the move could prompt “punitive measures” by the United States, without offering further details.

They said that unilateral recognition “undermines the principles of direct negotiations and imperils Israel’s security by removing incentives for Palestinian groups to repudiate terrorism, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and address final-status issues” and is “especially troubling” in the context of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.

They said that granting statehood now would only serve as a validation of Hamas’ activities and fuel more violence in the future, and that statehood should not be granted “until the Palestinians are willing to take responsibility for their people, renounce terrorism, and come to the negotiating table in good faith.”

They emphasized that France, the U.K., Canada and other countries lost citizens as well in the Oct. 7 attacks and that Hamas continues to hold hostages in “deplorable conditions.”

“Hamas’ war crimes are clear, and its rejection of diplomacy should lead your countries to impose more pressure. Instead, you offer greater rewards,” the lawmakers continued.

They said that the “misguided effort to reward terrorism” will also endanger the Jewish populations in the U.S. ally nations, where they already face rising antisemitism, harassment and attacks.

“You have the responsibility to stand against this scourge, denounce violence, and protect Jewish communities,” the lawmakers argued. “Sadly, your actions to legitimize a Palestinian terror state will only provide greater motivation to the violent antisemitic mobs.”

The letters were co-signed by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Steve Daines (R-MT), Dan Sullivan (R-AL), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) and Reps. Rudy Yakym (R-IN), Greg Steube (R-FL), Barry Moore (R-AL), Jefferson Shreve (R-IN), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Mike Flood (R-NE), Marlin Stutzman (R-IN), John McGuire (R-GA), Scott Franklin (R-FL), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and August Pfluger (R-TX) 

Stefanik said in a statement to Jewish Insider, “Unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state undermines the principles of direct negotiation and imperils Israel’s security. This absurd action would reward the behavior of Hamas terrorists and does nothing to secure the release of the 48 hostages still held by Hamas.”

National security experts are warning that Jewish communities around the world could face increased Iranian threats following the recent accusation by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps orchestrated attacks last year on a synagogue and kosher restaurant in the country.

“We’ve seen Iranian penetration in many Westernized countries, with Australia now being the latest. Though to see direct evidence of a linkage to actual violence — not just disinformation campaigns or cyber campaigns — is very frightening,” Rich Goldberg, a senior advisor at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Jewish Insider. 

On Tuesday, Albanese announced the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador in Canberra — the first time Australia has expelled a foreign ambassador since World War II — as well as three other embassy staffers, and designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group, after Australian intelligence indicated that Tehran was behind the 2024 attacks. 

Goldberg called it “earth-shattering” that Australia’s “left-wing prime minister, who may not agree on a whole lot of politics with the U.S., has been woken up to the very sobering reality of Iranian threats in his own country.” 

Goldberg urged Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union to “follow swiftly” in severing diplomatic relations with Iran, and for the U.S. and Australia to put diplomatic pressure on other governments to designate IRGC as a terrorist organization. Nearly all the major EU countries still have full diplomatic ties with Iran. 

“We know that Canada is highly penetrated by Iranian assets and the IRGC inside the country without having a very clear designation as a terrorist organization,” said Goldberg. “We’ve seen terrorist plots that are Iranian sponsored on British soil and the British government is still dragging its feet on prescribing the IRGC as a terrorist group. We know that they have operatives, both undercover as diplomats and as operatives, throughout the EU.” 

More than a year ago, the Biden administration’s director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, warned of the Iranian regime’s efforts to take advantage of campus unrest. In light of Australia going public with the Iranian threat, Goldberg urged the Trump administration to order an updated review of Iranian influence efforts in the U.S. 

“We all sort of forgot about that report, but it was big news at the time [even though] we never got a lot of detail on that,” he said. “Nobody has asked the question of what’s the current status of Iranian influence on protest movements or acts of violence in the U.S. We suspect that Iran has agents in the U.S. Some of those people have been arrested in the past. This has to remain a key priority for the FBI and [Department of] Homeland Security.”  

Matt Levitt, director of the Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, called for increased awareness of “Iranian external operations around the world, including in the U.S., in which the IRGC and other Iranian government agencies increasingly pay criminal proxies to carry out acts of violence, intimidation, and even kidnapping and murder on their behalf,” he said in a statement to JI. 

Heads of security organizations that monitor American Jewish communal safety said that the latest news coming out of Australia — in addition to an already heightened fear of Iranian retaliation following the U.S. airstrikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities in June — make threats from Iran and its proxy groups particularly alarming. 

“The FBI and NYPD have had live investigations that have resulted in arrests of Hezbollah operatives in New York City casing out institutions,” Mitch Silber, executive director of the Community Security Initiative, which works to safeguard Jewish communities, told JI. “Iranians have a long timeline. Just because [an attack] hasn’t happened in the last six to eight weeks [since the airstrikes] doesn’t mean that the Iranians haven’t stopped plotting.” 

Silber pointed to the recent case of a Hezbollah operative in Texas purchasing 300 pounds of ammonium nitrate. “Why would you [purchase] an explosive if you weren’t thinking of potentially trying to use it somewhere in the U.S.?” he said. 

“These developments in Australia reflect yet another tentacle of the IRGC in its escalating influence campaigns: furthering violence, destruction and discord, with the Jewish community bearing the brunt,” Michael Masters, Secure Community Network director and CEO, told JI. 

“We applaud the Australian government for shining the disinfecting light of day regarding these attacks. It only underscores the continued need for reporting, coordination and proactive security efforts by and for the Jewish community.”

Australia expelled the Iranian ambassador in Canberra as well as three other embassy staffers on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accusing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of orchestrating attacks on a synagogue in Melbourne and a kosher restaurant in Sydney.

Albanese, speaking at a press conference alongside the country’s top intelligence official, foreign minister and home affairs minister, called the plots “extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.” The expulsion of Ahmad Sadeghi marks the first time Australia has expelled a foreign ambassador since World War II.

Canberra also withdrew its diplomatic staff from Iran and has encouraged Australian citizens to leave the country if they are able.

Australian intelligence indicates that Tehran was behind additional antisemitic attacks in the country since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks. The country has seen an explosion of antisemitism, with a 316% year-over-year increase in antisemitic incidents in the year following the attacks.

Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, said that the plots were carried out “through a series of overseas cut-out facilitators to coordinators that found their way to tasking Australians,” describing the scheme as a “layer cake” of middlemen originating with the IRGC.

The expulsion of the Iranian diplomats comes shortly after the arrests of two individuals in connection with the December 2024 Melbourne synagogue attack, in which a synagogue was firebombed while nearly two dozen people were inside. 

The arson at Sydney’s Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, which took place in October 2024, caused $1 million in damage to the kosher restaurant. Court documents released earlier this month indicate that a middleman, Sayed Moosawi, who was directing the Sydney attack, was to receive $12,000 for his work. Prior to the fire at Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, two men directed by Moosawi mistakenly set fire to a brewery with a similar name to the restaurant.