Details emerging from the aftermath of the devastating terror assault at a Chanukah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach have intensified questions about security arrangements, government policy, and the broader climate facing Australia’s Jewish community. Officials confirmed Tuesday that just two police officers were stationed inside the park when the shooting erupted, an attack that left 15 people dead and scores injured.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the limited on-site presence while speaking to Sky News Australia, explaining that officers were assigned to the festival area at the outset. “The police were tasked with being on the site during the festival. My understanding is that there were two in the park during or at the beginning of the shooting, the assassinations,” Minns said.
According to authorities, additional officers were nearby, and patrol units converged on the scene almost immediately after gunfire began. “And there were police in the vicinity, so a patrol car pulled up within moments of the firing beginning,” Minns added. “I think it’s important to note that police, obviously, when the shooting began, did engage the shooters and there’s two in critical condition in NSW hospitals.”
Witness testimony indicates that the attackers fired into the crowd for as long as ten minutes, targeting families gathered to celebrate the Jewish festival of lights. Roughly 1,000 people were attending the open-air event. The massacre is being described as the deadliest attack on a Jewish community in the Diaspora in decades, and the most severe antisemitic assault outside Israel since October 7, 2023.
Minns said investigators are now reconstructing the movements of all law enforcement personnel in the vicinity at the time of the attack. He described a chaotic confrontation in which officers with handguns engaged assailants armed with more powerful weapons. “We have several police officers who engaged with sidearms from 50 meters [160 feet] away, firing with someone who had a long-arm and a tactical advantage over NSW Police,” he said. “So they did engage and they did shoot both of the offenders, killing one of them.”
As the investigation continues, harrowing accounts of civilian bravery have come to light. Newly surfaced video shows Boris and Sofia Gurman attempting to stop the attackers—identified as father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram—before the rampage escalated. Both Gurmans were killed. Another bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, managed to tackle Sajid Akram and wrestle away his weapon before being shot multiple times in the arm and shoulder; he remains hospitalized and is expected to recover. Reuven Morrison, 62, then threw objects at Sajid Akram after he was disarmed, only to be fatally shot by Naveed Akram.
The attack has reignited deep anger within Australia’s Jewish community over what leaders describe as years of official tolerance toward antisemitic rhetoric. Speaking at a vigil in Bondi on Tuesday, Rabbi Nochum Schapiro of North Shore Chabad said repeated warnings to the government had gone unheeded. “We begged, ‘Shut these demonstrations down, legislate for it, find the legal means,’” he told mourners, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Schapiro pointed to earlier protests where chants and threats against Jews were allegedly allowed to persist. “And those who shouted ‘Gas the Jews,’ or ‘Where’s the Jews’ – what difference does it make, same vile statements – were not prosecuted, were not stopped, were not sent out of the country, were allowed to continue with this vile hate. So we ask [politicians] now: Legislate,” he said.
He was referencing a demonstration in Sydney days after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, when police advised Jews to stay away as an Israeli flag was burned. Footage appeared to capture protesters chanting “Gas the Jews,” though New South Wales police later said they determined “with overwhelming certainty” that the chant was “Where’s the Jews.”
Schapiro also revealed that he had written to Prime Minister Antony Albanese months earlier, warning that Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood—announced in September—could have dangerous consequences. “I didn’t even get a response,” he said. “You cannot disconnect the Jewish people from the Jewish land. The Jewish people and the Jewish land are one.”
He continued, “And when you vilify the leaders of the Jewish land of Israel, and when you constantly criticize them and then say that they must give up parts of this land… that endangers Jews everywhere.” Schapiro added that, in his view, “When Israel is criticized, then the way it’s received by the antisemites is that it’s okay to attack Jews.”
Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu weighed in with a direct appeal to Western governments, urging immediate action to safeguard Jewish communities worldwide. “I demand that Western governments do what is necessary to combat antisemitism and provide the required security and protection for Jewish communities around the world,” he said in a Hebrew-language video message released by his office. “They would do well to heed our warnings. I am demanding action — now.”
As Australia prepares to bury the victims, the scale of the tragedy is becoming painfully clear. The first funerals are scheduled for Wednesday, according to Simcha Greineman of the Zaka Jewish emergency service, who traveled from Israel to assist with burial preparations. Six of the 15 victims are expected to be laid to rest that day.
Greineman said Zaka volunteers only gained access to the crime scene on Tuesday, a day after arriving in Sydney, and identification work is ongoing. “We want to make sure we have whatever remains we can to conduct their rites,” he said, noting that some victims have not yet been formally identified because they were foreign nationals and lack local DNA records.
Meanwhile, international attention has turned to the background of the attackers. Authorities say the pair were inspired by the Islamic State, and investigators are examining their overseas travel and contacts. Indian police confirmed Tuesday that Sajid Akram originated from Hyderabad, saying his relatives there were unaware of any extremist activity. “The family members have expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalization,” Telangana state police said.
In Jerusalem on Tuesday, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar jointly condemned the massacre, framing terrorism as a shared global danger. “Terror is a mutual threat for both countries, and we are standing always with the people of India,” Sa’ar said. Jaishankar responded that India denounces the attack “in the strongest possible terms,” adding, “We are both countries that have a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism,” and expressing appreciation for Israel’s support in combating it “in all its forms and manifestations.”
{Matzav.com}
