A federal inquiry in Australia has opened public hearings into a deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead during a Jewish festival.
The royal commission, the country’s highest level of public inquiry, was established to examine the factors leading to the attack, which took place in December. Two gunmen targeted Jewish families gathered for a Hanukkah celebration at the popular beach.
Opening the hearings on Monday, inquiry chair Virginia Bell said the investigation would consider the wider context of rising antisemitism. “The sharp spike of antisemitism that we have witnessed in Australia has been mirrored in other Western countries and seems clearly linked to events in the Middle East,” she said.
She added that such developments can quickly lead to hostility towards Jewish Australians. “It’s important that people understand how quickly those events can prompt ugly displays of hostility towards Jewish Australians simply because they are Jews,” she said.
The inquiry has received thousands of submissions addressing the impact of antisemitism. Counsel assisting the inquiry, Zelie Hegen, described it as “one of society’s oldest hatreds” and said recent incidents had caused widespread concern within the Jewish community.
She referred to antisemitic chants during a protest outside the Sydney Opera House in October 2023, shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel, which she said heightened fears among Jewish Australians. Community organisations recorded 2,062 antisemitic incidents in the following year.
Hegen also described a “summer of terror”, during which synagogues and Jewish businesses in Sydney and Melbourne were targeted in a series of arson and graffiti attacks.
The Bondi Beach shooting is regarded as Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in three decades. Sajid Akram, aged 50, and his son Naveed Akram, aged 24, are accused of carrying out the attack. Sajid Akram was shot and killed by police at the scene.
Naveed Akram, an Australian-born citizen, has been charged with terrorism offences and 15 counts of murder. He remains in custody.
The hearings are expected to continue with testimony from members of Sydney’s Jewish community, focusing on their experiences and the broader impact of antisemitism in Australia.
