Australian officials announced night that the death toll from the vicious, antisemitic rampage at Sydney’s Bondi Beach has climbed to 15 precious lives, a tragedy that has shaken the entire country. For Australia, this is the most devastating act of violence in three decades, not seen since the 1996 massacre in Tasmania that took 35 lives.
Authorities revealed that the perpetrators were a father and son, Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram. Sajid, who held legal permits for six firearms, was killed in the exchange of gunfire, while Naveed remains in critical condition. Police reported finding an ISIS flag inside their vehicle.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the atrocity in stark terms, calling it “an act of pure evil” directed specifically at Australian Jews. “We will devote every possible resource necessary to respond to this attack,” he declared. He added, “My government will continue to stand with Australian Jews, to eradicate all expressions of antisemitism.” The prime minister later visited the site, laying a wreath in memory of the victims.
As the community reels, authorities have released the names of seven of the victims taken in the attack. Among them are Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad shliach in Sydney who helped arrange the Chanukah celebration on Bondi Beach; Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, 87, murdered as he tried shielding his wife; Tibor Weizmann, who likewise fell while protecting his spouse; Dan Elkayim, 27, a French Jew who moved to Sydney last year; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, another dedicated Chabad shliach; Reuven Morrison, 62, originally from the Soviet Union and a beloved member of the local Chabad kehilla; 82-year-old Marika Pogany; and Matilda, just 10 years old, whose family has chosen not to release her last name.
In addition to the murdered, 42 people were wounded, 11 of them fighting for their lives, including two police officers who rushed toward the danger to save others.
In the wake of the massacre, the National Security Headquarters issued an urgent advisory to Israelis abroad, noting that “past experience shows that there is a concern about copycat phenomena by supporters of terrorism who may act inspired by the event.” They urged travelers and communities to act with heightened caution: avoid unsecured public gatherings, especially those connected to Jewish life; remain alert around Jewish or Israeli locations; and immediately notify security forces if anything suspicious is observed.
{Matzav.com}
[Video below.] A deadly shooting at a Hanukkah gathering in Sydney has sparked a rare and forceful rebuke from Sen. John Fetterman, who openly broke with fellow Democrats while siding with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham over concerns about antisemitism and policies toward Israel.
The attack took place Sunday at the annual Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, where gunfire erupted during the event. Australian police said the assault “targeted” the Jewish community and confirmed it is being treated as an act of terrorism. Twelve people were killed, including one suspected attacker, and many others were wounded.
Appearing on “Sunday Morning Futures,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said he was aligned almost entirely with comments Graham had made earlier in the program, particularly regarding international efforts to advance Palestinian statehood despite Hamas’ continued violence. Fetterman said he agreed “with virtually everything” Graham warned about.
“It’s an absolute betrayal for Israel and for the worldwide Jewish community,” said Fetterman.
He went on to criticize Western governments that have moved to recognize a Palestinian state even as Hamas continues to carry out attacks. “Whether it’s France or Australia or any of these nations, our Western allies are now calling for a two-state solution when Hamas refuses to disarm and are actively trying to kill Jews. I can’t imagine why anybody would do that at this point,” he added.
Earlier Sunday, Graham sharply condemned countries that have formally recognized a Palestinian state, accusing them of “rewarding killing Jews” through those decisions. Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada all extended recognition earlier this year. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney later issued a statement asserting that the move was not intended to legitimize terrorism, but rather to encourage long-term reconstruction efforts following the Israel-Hamas war.
The United States, by contrast, has not formally recognized a Palestinian state.
Beyond foreign policy, Fetterman turned his criticism inward, accusing fellow Democrats of increasingly tolerating hostile rhetoric toward Israel. He said such language is now “becoming more and more part of my party’s platform.”
“I can’t imagine why so many parts of people in my party continue to back away or to kind of deflect… condemning these kinds of horrific acts of terrorism,” said Fetterman.
Long known as one of the most outspoken pro-Israel voices within the Democratic caucus, Fetterman has repeatedly urged his party to recalibrate its approach to the Jewish state. He also pointed to social media as a major driver of antisemitism, particularly among younger Americans.
“The young people in our nation have turned their back entirely against Israel, and that’s the social media, that’s the scourge, that’s where antisemitism breeds,” he said.
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In a heated appearance Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut tied the deadly shooting at Brown University to what he described as policies advanced by President Donald Trump.
Murphy argued that differences in state gun laws directly affect levels of violence, asserting that stricter regulations save lives. “If you look at states like Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California that have stronger laws, we have gun violence rates, murder rates, mass shooting rates that are two to 3 to 4 times lower than states that have loose gun laws. And many of the weapons that are used in our states for gun crimes come to our states from those states that have an ability for criminals and people with serious mental illness to buy weapons. So what we know is that stronger laws do work. Since we passed that bill in 2022, the first bill in 30 years that strengthens the nation’s gun laws, gun violence rates and mass shooting rates have come down in this country.”
He then directly blamed the current administration for worsening conditions, saying, “But this is not shocking because over the last year, President Trump has been engaged in a dizzying campaign to increase violence in this country. He is restoring gun rights to felons and people who have lost their ability to buy guns. He eliminated the White House office of gun violence protection, and he has stopped funding mental health grants and community anti-gun violence grants that Republicans and Democrats supported in that 2022 bill. So he has been engaged in a pretty deliberate campaign to try to make violence more likely in this country. I think you’re unfortunately going to see the results of that on the streets of America.”
CNN host Dana Bash pushed back on the scope of the accusation, responding, “That’s a pretty big statement. He’s a campaign to make violence more likely.”
Murphy stood by his assessment, insisting the consequences were predictable. “Of course. I mean, he’s knowingly restoring gun rights to dangerous people. He is cutting off grants that have bipartisan support to try to interrupt violence in our cities or to try to get necessary mental health resources to families and children in need. The evidence tells you that when you stop funding mental health, when you stop funding community anti-gun violence programs, when you give gun rights back to dangerous people, you are going to have an increase in violence that is knowable and that is foreseeable.”
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{Matzav.com}
Against the backdrop of Chanukah, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu addressed Israel’s police leadership and officers with words of gratitude, warning, and resolve during a candle-lighting ceremony at the National Police Academy on Sunday evening.
The event brought together Netanyahu and his wife Sara, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his wife Ayala, and Israel Police Inspector-General Danny Levy. Also present were senior police commanders, academy graduates, and male and female officers, along with the family of Master-Sgt. Ran Gvili of the National Counter-Terrorism Unit, who fought heroically on October 7 and was taken hostage to Gaza.
Netanyahu opened his remarks with a pledge regarding Gvili’s fate. “We will bring Ran back, just as we brought back 254 out of our 255 abductees,” he said. “Some did not believe. I believe. My friends in the government believed. They said: ‘It will be a miracle.’ I said: ‘This nation performs miracles.’ Hakadosh Boruch Hu helps a people who help themselves. We are a people who have learned to help ourselves, because we knew that in times of distress, it is not certain that anyone else will help us.”
He then reflected on Jewish history and the persistence of hatred toward Jews. “This was largely our fate in exile with waves of antisemitism that kept returning, rising, returning, rising, and returning, rising,” Netanyahu said. “What changed with the establishment of the State of Israel was not the disappearance of antisemitism but our ability to repel the massacres and mass murders against Jews, which always followed numerous accusations, lies, and insults. That is the change.”
Turning to recent events abroad, the prime minister addressed the deadly Chanukah attack in Australia. “Even today, they try to murder, and sadly, even today they succeeded in murdering Jews. They massacred Jews in Sydney, Australia,” he said.
Netanyahu revealed that he had previously warned Australian leadership of the consequences of their policies. “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 October 7th. You are legitimizing all these rioters and you are not lifting a finger to eliminate these terror hotspots. This will lead to more murders.’ He did nothing.”
He cautioned that further attacks should be expected and emphasized where Jews are safest. “We know there will be additional attacks. The safest place for the Jewish people in the world is where the government, the army, and the security forces will defend them – that is first and foremost in the State of Israel, because we defend ourselves, and we defend ourselves with the help of the IDF, with the help of the security forces, and with the help of the brave male and female officers of the Israel Police.”
Addressing the officers directly, Netanyahu underscored their role on October 7. “Honored guests and friends, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, his wife Ayala, the Police Inspector-General, the command staff, and the academy graduates, you were on the first line of defense on October 7. I do not forget that. I was on the line and I saw the line of the heroes and heroines, the female police officers who fought and fell, and the male police officers who fought and fell. A tremendous hero, Ran Gvili, simply fought until the last bullet with a broken arm, but with an unwavering spirit.”
The prime minister framed Israel’s current struggle in historical terms, drawing parallels to ancient times. “Somehow we returned to our land after the exile imposed upon us. And the first thing we had to renew was our capacity for self-defense. This is what we have been doing over the past two years with renewed vigor and great success. We essentially represent the free world, modern civilization, against the barbarians who want to return us to the Middle Ages. That is what they want. And like in the days of the Maccabees, they hesitate – the few against the many – we are a nation of about ten million against many, against the enemies who only recently fought us as two hundred million.”
He continued by describing the military response that followed the October 7 attack. “True, they attacked us, they caused us an unbearable disaster on October 7, but on October 8, it already turned around. We went and struck them clockwise. First in Gaza, then in Lebanon, then in Syria, also in Iraq, and above all – in Iran. No one believed, no one believed in the miracles and wonders in those days and in this time. But we believed. You believe.”
Netanyahu concluded with words of appreciation and encouragement to the police. “I want to commend you, police officers of Israel. Continue to believe. Continue to safeguard us and also safeguard one another. Thank you very much on behalf of the people of Israel throughout the generations. Happy Chanukah to all of you.”
{Matzav.com}
