Monday, December 15, 2025

12/15 Links Pt1: Holocaust survivors and children among the 15 murdered; The Road to Bondi Beach; Bondi Beach Is What ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Looks Like; Bondi Beach hero told cousin 'I'm going to die'

From Ian:

Bret Stephens: Bondi Beach Is What ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Looks Like
Sadly for Australia, foreign actors alone aren’t the problem. Last year, Jillian Segal, the government’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, warned that “antisemitic behavior is not only present on many campuses, but is an embedded part of the culture.” In the wake of Hamas’s attack of Oct. 7, Greens legislator Jenny Leong went on a rant accusing “the tentacles” of the “Jewish lobby and the Zionist lobby” of “infiltrating into every single aspect of what is ethnic community groups.” Jewish homes, neighborhoods and a day care center have been targeted by vandals and arsonists. At least one of the alleged shooters in Sunday’s attack was known to authorities, “but not in an immediate threat perspective,” according to a top Australian intelligence official.

I heard an earful of alarm from Jewish communal leaders when I last visited Australia in June 2024, but nothing seemed to change. On Sunday, the Australian Jewish Association posted a message to Facebook: “How many times did we warn the government? We never felt once that they listened.”

They are probably listening now. But the problem for the Albanese government, which in September recognized a Palestinian state and has been outspoken in its condemnation of Israeli actions in Gaza, is that the moral line between the routine demonization of Israel and attacks on Jews who are presumed to support Israel isn’t necessarily clear. On Sunday, Albanese said that “the evil that was unleashed at Bondi Beach today is beyond comprehension.” In fact, it’s entirely comprehensible. For fanatics who have been led to believe that the Jewish state is the apotheosis of evil, killing Jews represents a twisted notion of justice. Even when the victims are unarmed civilians. Even when they are celebrating an ancient, joyful holiday.

There’s a larger lesson here that goes far beyond Australia.

Though we’ll probably learn more in the weeks ahead about the mind-set of Sunday’s killers, it’s reasonable to surmise that what they thought they were doing was “globalizing the intifada.” That is, they were taking to heart slogans like “resistance is justified,” and “by any means necessary,” which have become ubiquitous at anti-Israel rallies the world over. For many of those who chant those lines, they may seem like abstractions and metaphors, a political attitude in favor of Palestinian freedom rather than a call to kill their presumptive oppressors.

But there are always literalists — and it’s the literalists who usually believe their ideas should have real-world consequences. On Sunday, those consequences were written in Jewish blood. History tells us that it won’t be the last time.
The People of Forever Are Not Afraid
We’ll mourn the dead, we’ll comfort the afflicted, we’ll carry on. It’s been millennia now; we’ve gotten good at it. And we’ll continue to grow stronger because we draw our courage and our resolve from that ancient covenant that charges us, always and forever, to spread God’s light and love to a benighted, blood-soaked world. Our great prophet Micah captured the mission statement perfectly long ago: “They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it.”

And yet, in each generation, some clearly fail to get the memo, believing instead that it’s possible to make them—us, the Jews, and with us, the entire world—afraid by means of brute force. How does that work out? A brief history lesson tells the story.

Rome, the former empire that showed us no mercy, is now a sweaty, smoggy city depending on tourist dollars to survive.

Spain, birthplace of the Inquisition, has let in some 600,000 migrants a year since 2022 and now faces the highest unemployment rate on the continent.

England, having been the first to expel the Jews in 1290, now arrests people for making true statements on social media while turning a blind eye to the mass rape of its own daughters by gangs of vicious migrants slowly devouring the country.

France, Germany, Canada, Australia—it’s the same story everywhere you look. A West too weak to define, let alone defend, its own values, and hordes of marauders settling in and reshaping the culture in their violent, hateful image.

So don’t worry about us. Worry about Sydney, Toronto, Paris, and the other former capitals of culture and innovation that are now drowned by waves of angry savages cheering on murder and sowing chaos and violence. Worry about the kind folks in Germany who let in hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the name of multicultural benevolence, only to be told that they may no longer enjoy their Christmas markets because their new neighbors may feel inclined to blow them up, shoot them up, or ram them with cars. Worry about the politicians who continue to take suicidal symbolic steps, like recognizing “Palestine” or prattling on about “Islamophobia,” even as they drain their nations of their freedoms and securities.

Almost immediately after the shooting in Sydney, some on social media took to sharing the famous photograph of a menorah in a window in Kiel, Germany, in 1931, with the Nazi flag hanging from the facade of the party’s regional headquarters across the street. The photo is indeed worth a thousand words: Hanukkah has never been a holiday of passive faith. It commemorates a moment when Jews refused to surrender their identity to those who demanded conformity. Hanukkah teaches that Jewish survival is not rooted in denial of danger, but in the courage to affirm who we are anyway.

Nearly a century later, we still light menorahs with joy and conviction, whereas the Nazi flag and those who believed in it are all gone. Nearly a century later, the Jewish state leads the way in everything from innovation to birthrates to happiness, while the birthplace of Goethe and Schiller finds its fertility in free fall, its politics in turmoil, and its future darkened by violent invaders who despise its culture and show it no fealty or gratitude.

Today’s Nazis will soon meet a similarly grim ending, their green-red-white-and-black flag tossed to the same dustbin of history as the swastika. Let the savages ululate their blood libels as they always have. Let them accuse the Jews of whatever they want. The people of forever aren’t afraid.
JPost Editorial: Bondi attack exposes Australia’s failure to confront rising antisemitism
Coordinated, ideologically driven violence
Even more disturbing was what lay behind some of these attacks. Australian intelligence has concluded that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind at least two antisemitic arson attacks on Jewish sites in Melbourne and Sydney, prompting Canberra to expel Iranian diplomats, suspend its embassy operations in Tehran, and move toward designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization. This is not spontaneous hatred. It is coordinated, ideologically driven violence.

At the same time, the Mossad warned Australian authorities of the risk of an antisemitic terrorist attack against the Jewish community. A Post staff report, citing Israeli and Australian media, revealed that the Mossad sent messages about possible threats, even as the local police commissioner insisted there had been no specific intelligence before the Bondi Beach massacre.

That gap, if confirmed, points to a devastating breakdown between the warning system and the political and policing response.

The human cost is already visible. We reported that Arsen Ostrovsky, a Post contributor and pro-Israel human-rights lawyer, was among those wounded at Bondi Beach.

Just two weeks earlier, Ostrovsky had warned of “an alarming surge in Jew-hatred since October 7, including the defilement of Australian landmarks being hijacked as platforms for intimidation.” His wounds at a Hanukkah celebration are a brutal illustration of how quickly rhetoric turns into bullets.

Australia’s experience is part of a broader and troubling global pattern. Across Western democracies, antisemitism has surged alongside a wider resurgence of ideological extremism. Jewish communities are often the first targets, but history shows they are never the last.

Lone actors, radicalized networks, and transnational ideologies do not respect borders, and they thrive where political leadership hesitates to name the problem clearly or act decisively.

Australian authorities have taken steps in response: arrests, investigations, new databases, and task forces. Yet the overall response has too often felt reactive, fragmented, and cautious. Security cannot be reduced to policing after the fact. It requires political clarity, legal frameworks that recognize modern threats, and sustained coordination between intelligence services, law enforcement, and vulnerable communities.

Standing with Australia’s Jewish community is not a matter of symbolism or special pleading. It is a test of whether the state can protect a minority when it is under sustained attack, and whether it understands that doing so strengthens democracy for everyone. Jewish Australians should not have to choose between visibility and safety, or between practicing their faith and trusting their government.

If Australia fails to act decisively now, not just for Jews but for all communities, it will not be because the threat was unforeseeable. The Post’s own reporting throughout the past two years has chronicled the warning signs. Those warnings were ignored, and responsibility was deferred. That is a failure no democracy can afford.


Holocaust survivors and children among the 15 killed after crazed gunmen fire on Sydney Hanukkah celebration
Children and a Holocaust survivor were among the 15 people killed Sunday when a pair of deranged gunmen opened fire on a crowded Australian beach where thousands of local Jews had gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.

The victims range in age from 10 to 87, Australian authorities confirmed, and include religious leaders, devoted friends and beloved family members.

“This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community,” said New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.

The shooting broke out Sunday evening on Bondi Beach, a popular tourist destination in Sydney where a massive crowd from the local Jewish community was holding a Hanukkah celebration.

But the celebratory beach outing quickly turned into terror when a hateful father and son — Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father — showed up with shotguns, a rifle, and a car full of explosives and started shooting at anybody in sight.

Screams mingled with the gunfire as the attack went on for 10 terrifying minutes, and it only stopped after a local fruit seller — 43-year-old Ahmed al-Ahmed — tackled Akram to the ground and wrestled the gun from his hands. The gunman father was killed by police, while his son was wounded and hospitalized in custody.

And with nearly 40 people wounded, the death toll could continue to rise in the coming days. Below are the victims known so far:


John Podhoretz: For Jews, Everywhere Could Be Sydney
We know why the cops froze. Do I even have to say why? We see it in every European city—police forces instructed by their higher-ups not to intervene when there is an anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic scene on the streets for fear of inflaming the Muslim populace. That’s either due to rank politics (i.e., the British Labour party cannot afford to alienate what has become its root base), or the multiculturalist brain disease that has overtaken the liberal European mind (i.e., who are we to judge the anger of those whose imams are inciting them to acts of violence, not to mention the correspondents for the BBC, many of whom we have learned were literally Hamas operatives).

My point here is that while the horrors on Bondi Beach are unendurable, they happened on just another day ending in Y for the Jews on this planet. As I read the testimonies of Australian Jews on or near the beach, one sentiment stands out. It comes from Julie Szego, writing at the Free Press: “’Now do you believe us?’” I imagine screaming at Australia’s progressive intelligentsia, political, and media class.”

Szego concludes ruefully: “It has become a source of dark humor within the Jewish community that after almost every antisemitic incident over the past two awful years, [Australian Prime Minister] Anthony Albanese has insisted there was ‘no place for antisemitism in Australia.’ This time, the facts so tragically contradicted the sentiment that we didn’t hear it from the prime minister. It turns out there is plenty of space for antisemitism in Australia. Lethal antisemitism. And if the Jews are to have any future here—and after a sleepless, terrible night I can’t be sure they do—the first step is to finally admit as much.”

Now do you believe us, world? Do you believe us, Zohran Mamdani—or do you want it to happen here? As Bret Stephens says, this is what “globalize the intifada” looks like, and New York City has more targets of opportunity for terrorism against Jews than any place on earth. Economists tell us that when you subsidize something, you get more people to act on it. The incoming NYC mayor’s refusal to separate himself from the idea of globalizing the intifada—”that’s not language I use,” he says, without saying it’s language that shouldn’t be used—will begin his tenure on January 1 having drawn a target on my city and its Jewish population.

Everywhere could be Sydney for Jews. And remember: Because of the international date line, things happen there first.
Seth Mandel: The Road to Bondi Beach
Literally everyone saw this attack, or something like it, coming. Australia’s problem has been out in the open. Anti-Semitism has been conducted daily in the daylight, for fear of neither man nor God—nor, certainly, of Anthony Albanese.

The storm clouds that gathered over Oz these past two years have not been animated by sudden evidence of nihilism among Australia’s recreational hunters. They have been animated by a wildfire of anti-Jewish bloodlust and a feckless, pathetic political class. Perhaps in addition to gun laws, Australian legislators can pass new restrictions on the number of cowards allowed in their ranks.

The idea that anti-Semitism can be defeated by laws is not evidenced by history. Perhaps it cannot be defeated at all; as long as there are Jews, there will be Jew-hatred, and there will always be Jews.

But history does tell us ways the danger can be lessened or increased. First and foremost, anti-Semitic acts get a boost when anti-Semitic rhetoric is pronounced or even tacitly encouraged by the government. And there is no question the government has given credence to false anti-Israel narratives about the war, including by rewarding Hamas with “recognition” of a Palestinian state. We know that Israel did not intentionally starve Gazan children; Hamas did. We know that Israel did not target hospitals but rather targeted terrorist forces who had turned hospitals into instruments of war. We know that the “journalists” killed in Gaza were very rarely journalists. We know that Hamas and other terrorists were systematically murdering hostages and then blaming their deaths on the IDF. We know that wartime conditions in Gaza were by the design of Hamas.

And still, it was Israel that the Australian government was focused on punishing for the above.

It is also true that the government simply watched, unmoved, as a cascade of incidents and attacks escalated to this point, even as the anti-Semites made their intentions plain. In Australia, the focus wasn’t a fight over euphemisms and whether “intifada” means this or that in the original Arabic. In Australia, they just outright threatened Jews without hiding behind anti-Zionism: rallygoers just after Oct. 7, for example, were seen and heard shouting what sounded like “Gas the Jews!” Their defense was that they only said “where’s the Jews.” Notice that everybody agrees on the word “Jews.”

The bipartisan consensus expressed by leading Israeli figures is that Australia’s government is culpable in this atrocity, and the Jewish state will be sending Israelis to help in person as well as a reported political delegation to say what needs to be said on the ground. Good.

I’ll leave the efficacy of proposed gun laws to Australia’s firearms experts and political scientists. But Australia’s role in enabling the globalization of the intifada is not a local issue. It is a borderless delinquency. Jews weren’t the ones who globalized the intifada, and we certainly cannot abandon Australia’s Jewish community to a political class and government that watches as its anti-Semites go Jew-hunting in the light of day, seeing no one and nothing to fear. Albanese should not go a day without hearing the voice of the world’s Jews heap shame upon him and everyone who shares his unfitness for high office.
Seth Mandel: It’s the End of a Mass Delusion in the Jewish Institutional World
One of the reasons fighting anti-Semitism is so time-consuming is that these “allies” of which Berman speaks do not exist. Sure, individuals of all sorts stand with us, but the alphabet soup of progressive social dogma enforcers has united—against the Jews. The single most salient fact of the post-Oct. 7 world, at least in the United States, is this: Every major group that Jewish advocacy organizations fought for are either sitting this one out or suiting up for the other side.

The ADL’s former director of education also spoke to JTA and lamented the demise of ADL’s “holistic anti-bigotry training, as opposed to emphasizing the targeting of a single vulnerable population.” To be clear, he is referring to a form of programming not much different from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—the institutional ideology that has made college campuses intolerant of the mere presence of Jews. In a roundabout way, this complaint is that the ADL isn’t fomenting enough anti-Semitism.

What else is on the list of grievances? A former deputy director recalls in horror the time that the ADL’s pro-abortion faction went to war against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. She was not horrified by the irresponsible partisanship and the elevation of abortion by a Jewish group; she was upset about CEO Jonathan Greenblatt’s apparent reaction: “Jonathan came and he was very angry. He said women’s issues are not core issues.”

And on it goes like that.

Truth is, these unhappy campers have indeed revealed evidence of the ADL’s mismanagement. Because the Anti-Defamation League should not have been an organization at which these professionals were comfortable working for as long as they were. At the same time, it’s really too bad that they couldn’t adjust to the new reality—that a system of progressive alliances the ADL had built over Greenblatt’s tenure was illusory, that a frightening amount of time and resources had been spent supporting activists who would like to see us pushed into the sea, and that the Jews will be forced to win this battle with a greatly reduced roster of allies. The good news is that those who want to be part of the fight aren’t going anywhere.
Seth Frantzman: Countries failed to speak with clarity about the Australia attack
What do the words “scenes from Bondi Beach” mean? It could be a tidal wave. It could be a shark attack or a mudslide.

“Scenes” is a vague word that could describe any kind of natural disaster. If one were to write “the scenes from California,” what might one assume? Scenes from a movie? Beautiful weather? This word, paired with“shock and distress,” fails to convey that this is a mass murder. “Shock and distress” are also words that may apply to a natural disaster or a large accident.

The Bondi Beach attack was not confusing. It was absolutely clear that gunmen were shooting at people. And it was absolutely clear that the target was a Jewish Hanukkah event. Even if these countries held off on mentioning Jews until it was clear this was an antisemitic attack, they could still reference that this was a murderous rampage or massacre.

Murder was clearly what was taking place. Words such as “shooting,” “murder,” and “attack” would all be more descriptive than “scenes” and “shock.”

Many countries are reluctant to address these types of attacks head-on. They have a preference for well-crafted public relations statements that are vague and will satisfy everyone. It’s common in such discussions that if someone asks,

“Should we mention Jewish victims?” That someone will say that mentioning Jews might make the statement less “inclusive” and that “if you mention Jews, you should mention other minorities.”

For instance, it’s common to see “antisemitism and Islamophobia” as if every time there is a targeted murder of Jews, it’s important to also mention Muslims to “balance” the statement. This usually doesn’t go the other way. When other minorities are targeted, public relations consultants rarely suggest including Jews in a statement.

We don’t know the motive or reasons that led to the word “scenes” being used to describe mass murder, or why “distress and shock” were the main reactions, as opposed to “we condemn mass murder.” What is clear is that the language was almost identical in three key countries. This leads to the generalization and downplaying of the seriousness of the attack.

One day after the attack, major media outlets have now moved to report that the main agenda in Australia appears to be about addressing “gun laws,” according to the BBC, CNN, and NBC. Thus, the narrative has quickly moved from “scenes” to “gun laws” while seemingly skipping over the Jewish victims.
The Bondi massacre has shredded Australia’s social fabric
The anti-Semitism that drove Alexander Kleytman to seek sanctity in Australia finally caught up with him. Kleytman fled Ukraine as a child with his mother to escape the unspeakable terror of the Holocaust. They survived sub-zero temperatures and near starvation in Siberia, counting themselves lucky to be alive. Yesterday, at the age of 87, he was killed by a jihadist’s bullet on a warm summer evening at Bondi Beach in front of his grandchildren.

The Bondi massacre, which has claimed at least 15 lives, shattered the peace of a lazy summer Sydney afternoon, together with the notion of Australian exceptionalism, the idea that we are the happiest, most integrated multicultural nation on Earth.

We once hoped that the jihadists might leave us out of their plans for a global caliphate, just as Hitler held back his troops on the borders of Switzerland. Those hopes were destroyed two days after the 7 October 2023 atrocity in Israel, when a large and threatening group of Palestinian protesters marched to the Sydney Opera House, brandishing jihadist flags and chanting ‘Gas the Jews’ and ‘Where’s the Jews?’.

Last Sunday, the anti-Semites found the Jews gathered by the sea to celebrate Hanukkah. The backyard jihadists, father and son, fired at least 40 single-round shots, cold-bloodedly singling out their victims through the sights of their long-barrelled rifles.

Parents instinctively threw their bodies on their children. Kleytman shielded his wife, Laris, also a Holocaust survivor. The youngest victim was a 10-year-old child, pictured smiling on social media.

It was once tempting to imagine that anti-Semitism, like smallpox, might be eradicated in Australia. Such naivety was exposed in the aftermath of 7 October, when an intense hatred of Jews erupted not just among a radical Islamist contingent, but also among their fellow travellers on the progressive left. Since then, almost 4,000 anti-Semitic incidents have been recorded in Australia, an average of five a day.

The anti-Semitic attacks are too frequent and their targets too varied to be solely blamed on jihadists or neo-Nazis, who, though active in Australia, are small in number. There is no common modus operandi. The best assessment is that these are spontaneous expressions of everyday Jew hatred in an atmosphere in which anti-Semitism has become a normalised form of political expression.
Nicole Lampert: I Don’t Want to Hear More ‘Thoughts and Prayers’
After the attack on the Manchester synagogue on another Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, which left two dead, British-born Australian rabbi Eli Schlanger wrote: ‘Terrorism must never be excused, rewarded or negotiated with. To Anthony Albanese, I say this with urgency – stop fuelling terrorism by legitimisingthose who spread hate. Listen to the voices of those who understand it first-hand.’

Rabbi Schlanger, a father of five, was killed on Bondi Beach on Sunday, leading the party for children which had music, games and facepainting.

He wrote after several of Australia’s Jewish buildings were firebombed, people who were members of a WhatsApp group were doxxed and forced into hiding and dozens of other horrors.

Perhaps, if Rabbi Schlanger’s words of warning had been listened to he might still be alive.

These Western leaders have Jewish blood on their hands and all their thoughts and prayers won’t make it better. We need concrete action and we need it now. Because this won’t end with the Jews.

Antisemitism is often called the ‘canary in the coalmine’. Historically, a canary would be used by miners to test if there was a poison in the atmosphere. Well, the canary is dead: that’s why from Christmas markets to the House of Commons we now have bollards and police vans.

Yet still we allow hate preachers in our mosques, anti-Western rhetoric to dominate our universities, and while many countries have banned the Muslim Brotherhood because of their links to terrorism, in the UK they are allowed – astonishingly - to collect money.

Our leaders have been wilfully blind to the undercurrents in our midst. What will it take for them to open their eyes and give us something more then empty platitudes.
Beyond Anger By Abe Greenwald
Via Commentary Newsletter, sign up here. In some sense, I’ve taken that last step already. I don’t mean I’ve initiated the process of making aliyah; I haven’t. What I mean is that while I live in the United States and love it with my full American heart, I also exist ideationally in an inner Land of Israel. It’s a part of me that came into being only over the past two years, and it’s where I derive strength and hope. It’s where my anger was alchemized into resolve.

I’ve always been a passionate Zionist, but this was something new.

From what I can tell, I’m not alone among American Jews (and some Gentiles) in discovering a new personal Zion inside themselves. It’s a condition we carriers seem to be able to spot in one another.

We watched our beloved West collapse into moral cowardice and moral inversion, saw a self-sacralized media normalize blood libel, witnessed deadly attacks on innocent Jews, lived through the election of a left-wing anti-Semite in New York City, and finally observed the rise of rabid Jew-hatred on the right. And through it all, we were increasingly stunned by a Jewish state that successfully took on enemies a hell of a lot tougher than students in keffiyehs, that mobilized into a multifront war machine like the world has never known and tuned out the noise and hate to focus on the task of survival. Knowing that we had a connection to a land and a people giving their lives to secure civilization, while so many here at home had succumbed to the most unimpressive barbarians, does something to you.

Mainly it imposes an obligation. I feel obliged to summon at least a portion of the strength that Israelis have shown over the past two years. Perhaps even more challenging, I’m obliged to share in some measure of their Herculean love of life.

I don’t have a fraction of their courage and, in truth, I haven’t been called on to sacrifice a thing—unless you count my sense of comfort and security as a Jew in America. But since that was an illusion, or a vestigial sentiment from another age, I’m better off without it.

We are obliged not to let the battle fall on Israelis alone. Whether that means legally obtaining a weapon or making aliyah and fighting alongside them or getting in the face of every Jew-hater you see, that’s up to you. But it means, above all, we must do more than get angry after each attack. It means being resolved to the unending fight that is Jewish survival.


Bondi Beach hero told cousin 'I'm going to die' as he issued haunting request before moving to disarm gunman
The hero bystander who disarmed one of the Bondi Beach gunmen told his cousin he was going to die seconds before putting his life on the line.

Incredible footage captured the moment Ahmed el Ahmed, a 43-year-old father of two, sprang on the shooter after he opened fire on Sunday night.

The Syrian-born fruit shop owner's heroism has earned praise from Australia and beyond and came at a significant personal cost, landing him in hospital with two gunshot wounds to his shoulder.

The stakes were not lost on Mr Ahmed, who, seconds before approaching the gunman, told his cousin Jozay Alkanj he was going to die.

'He said "I'm going to die, please see my family and tell them that I went down to save people's lives",' Mr Alkanj recounted outside hospital on Monday morning, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Things might have turned out differently had the pair decided to join the revellers at the Hanukkah event, who offered them food as they passed by before the shooting began.

'We needed a coffee,' Mr Alkanj said. 'It was then just ten minutes before this happened like that. It was very crazy, we went behind the cars, we were seeing that people were shooting very near to us.'

Moments later, Mr Ahmed was filmed creeping through the car park along Campbell Parade, hiding behind parked cars for cover as he made his way towards the shooter.


Crowdfunder for Bondi beach hero raises more than $1.3 million in less than 24 hours
A crowdfunder set up to support the member of the public who disarmed one of the gunmen during Sunday’s Bondi beach Chanukah terror attack has raised more than $1.3 million in less than 24 hours, with more than 20,000 people having donated to help the injured hero.

Video footage of yesterday’s terror attack in Sydney, Australia, showed an unarmed Ahmed el-Ahmed manage to grab a gun from one of the two terrorists, sustaining wounds to his hand and shoulder in the process. El-Ahmed, a 43-year old father of two, originally from Syria, is believed to run a fruit shop in Sydney. He underwent surgery yesterday for his injuries.

The crowdfunder was launched yesterday, with its organisers stating that “after witnessing the extraordinary actions of the hero who helped disarm one of the attackers during the Bondi tragedy, an act that prevented the loss of countless more lives, we felt compelled to act.

“In a moment of chaos and danger, he stepped forward without hesitation. His actions were selfless, instinctive, and undeniably heroic, taken without regard for his own safety.”

The organisers of the crowdfunder made an initial donation of $50,000 themselves “to honour this absolute hero and help support him through recovery, and the lasting impact of this traumatic event.

“No one expects to be a hero, but when the moment came, he was.”

Donations since have ranged in size from $5 from regular members of the public, to $100,000, donated by Jewish-American billionaire hedge fund manager, Bill Ackman.

Many Jewish people were among those who donated, with comments from community donors including “thank you for showing the world what true bravery is”, “you are a true hero”, and “you saved generations of Jewish people and for that we are immensely thankful”.


Revealed: The second man who tried to stop the Bondi Beach terror gunmen - and died a hero
A man who survived the Bondi Beach attack has described the moment his best friend died a hero while trying to stop the alleged gunmen.

Reuven Morrison, who serves as an assistant at Bondi's Wellington Street synagogue, put himself in harm's way after meeting his friend Vladimir at the Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach on Sunday.

An emotional Vladimir, who says he would have been caught up in the gunfire if he hadn't needed to find parking, said of the shooting: 'I saw everything and now my best friend is dead. He died in front of me.'

Vladimir, who is originally from the Soviet Union but has been an Australian since the 1970s, said he was returning from the Hanukkah celebration to sort out his car when the shooting began.

'I was leaving. I asked Reuven about what time to turn on the Chanukah lights and then I was walking away,' he told the Daily Mail.

'I'd walked about 50 metres when I heard the shots and I turned around and there was a Chinese lady and her child and I said "get down!" and maybe that's what saved me too.


Australia Investigated Bondi Beach Terrorist for ISIS Ties But Determined He Carried No Threat
Australian authorities held a six-month-long investigation into one of the Bondi Beach terrorists for his links to ISIS but determined he wasn’t a threat and allowed his household to keep six firearms.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) investigated 24-year-old Naveed Akram in October 2019 because of his connection to Isaac el Matari, who was arrested that year for planning a terrorist attack as the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic State in Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported. Matari was part of an ISIS cell in Australia with several other Sydney men who have been convicted of terrorist offenses and were close to Akram, according to ABC.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the investigation but said ASIO determined there was no ongoing threat. Authorities now believe that both Akram and his father, Sajid, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Two ISIS flags were found in their vehicle near the attack, one of which was visible on the car’s hood, according to authorities.

Australia’s already strict gun laws failed to prevent Sajid Akram from legally owning six firearms and using them with his son to terrorize a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach, killing at least 15 people and wounding 40 more. Australia requires prospective gun owners to demonstrate a "genuine reason" for ownership—which doesn’t include self-defense—undergo background checks, and comply with strict storage and registration rules. These regulations were enacted in 1996 after 35 people were killed in a mass shooting in Tasmania.

On Monday, Albanese vowed even tougher gun laws in response to the attack. The new measures he proposed include a limit on the number of guns an individual can own and a review of licenses over time.
Bondi Beach shooters took trip to terror hotspot before attack
The death toll of the horrific Bondi terror attack has risen to at least 16 people, including a 10-year-old schoolgirl, with fears the number of victims will continue to grow. Sky News Australia has rolling coverage of the tragedy.

Australia suffered its worst mass shooting since 1996 on Sunday after Sajid, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, murdered 15 innocent people and seriously injured more than 40.

As of Tuesday, the death toll has held at 16, with 25 hospitalised victims, of which six are in critical condition, while another person has been discharged.

In response to the horrific terror attack, the Albanese government announced it will seek to reform national gun laws in Australia.

However, former prime minister John Howard blasted the reaction, accusing the Albanese government of using gun reform as a political diversion.

Mr Howard said the central issue exposed by the terror attack was not firearms regulation but antisemitism, and he laid responsibility at the feet of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

He warned the government’s sudden focus on tightening gun laws risked becoming an excuse to avoid confronting what he described as its deeper moral failure.

“We've now been treated to the big attempt at a diversion, changes to gun laws now,” Mr Howard told Sky News on Tuesday.

“You can't legislate people's hearts… They (Australian Jews) want leaders who not only say the right things, but mean what they say.”

Mr Howard became renowned for overhauling national firearm laws within 12 days of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which cost 25 victims their lives.

He accused Mr Albanese of political equivocation in his response to the Bondi Beach attack, describing him as having been “Mr Yes, but maybe” on antisemitism.

“Part of the criticism I have of this government is that it’s backfilled and filled,” Mr Howard said.

“If he’d have shown a little more determination from the beginning … perhaps some of the antisemitism that has spread over the last couple of years would not have.”


The unseen angle of the Bondi Terror Attack
The true fear running through people's heads and hearts last night - is very hard to comprehend - but this next story - will show you just how tense it was here yesterday. Recorded and recounted - by an experienced international camera operator - who spoke to chief reporter Chris Reason.




Dutch police arrest 22 at protest of Amsterdam Hanukkah concert featuring IDF cantor
Dutch police said they arrested 22 people after clashes with protesters on Sunday outside an Amsterdam concert hall hosting a performance by the Israel Defense Forces’ official cantor.

The next morning, an anti-Israel group shared photos of red-paint graffiti on the walls of the concert hall, claiming credit for the vandalism and threatening other venues “considering platforming Zionists.”

Several hundred people gathered near the famous Concertgebouw hall on Sunday evening to protest a performance by Shai Abramson.

“The police intervened several times to keep the demonstrators at a distance and maintain public order,” the police said in a statement.

Footage circulating online showed the crowd chanting, and several demonstrators breaking through a barricade and clashing with police.

Signs shared on social media included inverted red triangles — a symbol used in Hamas propaganda to indicate a target — as well as comparisons of the Gaza war to the Holocaust, and celebration of the October 7 attack.


Dad praises woman shot while shielding his three-year-old girl in Bondi Beach terror attack: 'Indebted to you for the rest of my life'
The parents of a three-year-old girl caught in the Bondi Beach terror attack have spoken of the heroic stranger who shielded their child as bullets rained around them.

Parents Wayne and Vanessa spoke of the incredible moment they found their daughter, Gigi, hidden under the body of a woman who had been shot in the attack.

The family, who have three children, had been in separate ends of the park when the shooting began, with Wayne forced to shelter under a nearby table with their daughter Capri.

But it wasn't until Vanessa called Wayne to ask if he also had Gigi with him that 'absolute panic' began to set in.

She said she'd been watching Gigi dance in the field when all of a sudden 'she was gone'.

'I gave Capri to Vanessa and I said: 'I'm gonna go look for Gigi'. I went, I was looking, there was just blood and bodies everywhere and she was wearing a pink skirt and I saw this lady lying on top of her,' Wayne told Sky News.

She said: 'I've got your daughter, I've been protecting her.'

'I said you've saved my daughter's life. I said I'll be indebted to you for the rest of my life.


Victoria premier booed at Melbourne vigil amid ire at Labor party over Bondi attack
The premier of one of Australia’s states was booed and heckled at a Hanukkah event in her constituency Monday evening, as Australian Jews took their anger out at their government representative for policies that allegedly helped lead to the massacre a day earlier at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Jacinta Allan, who leads Victoria, attended a Hanukkah candle lighting and memorial vigil held at a synagogue in the Melbourne suburb of Caufield, and was promptly greeted by heckling from the congregation, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The report did not specify what the congregants said to Allan.

Allan is a member of the Victoria branch of the ruling Labor Party, which many have blamed for lack of action in response to warnings and cries for help from Australian Jews over rising antisemitism in the two years since the war in Gaza began.

Critics, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have also blamed the devastating attack on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state earlier this year, as well as his “appeasement” to growing anti-Israel sentiment in his country. Albanese categorically rejected the assertion that the shooting was linked to his decisions.
‘Shame on you’: The moment Greens Senator is met by furious public, as Sky journalist forces her to face blunt questions
A member of the public has accused Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi of having "blood" on her hands, as Sky News' Sharri Markson cornered her with a series of blunt questions regarding the Greens' conduct on antisemitism.

Ms Faruqi attended the scene of Australia’s worst mass shooting since Port Arthur on Monday with NSW Green Abigail Boyd, after David Shoebridge laid flowers at Bondi earlier in the morning.

Father and son Sajid, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, allegedly shot at a crowd of Jewish Chanukah celebrants on Sunday evening for about five minutes, killing 15 innocent people and injuring dozens more as at Monday afternoon.

Police and intelligence have deemed the attack an act of terrorism, and the NSW government stated the mass shooting was "designed to target Sydney's Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah".

Sky News’ Sharri Markson approached Senator Faruqi on Monday, asking whether she believed support for pro-Palestine protests had contributed to the political climate from which the attack may have arisen.

Markson questioned whether Ms Faruqi felt she fuelled the “antisemitism crisis by [her] aggressive rhetoric over the past two years”.

Senator Faruqi answered she was in Bondi “to mourn”.

However, a passersby could be heard interrupting the Greens Senator, saying “shame on you”.

“Bloods on your hands, shame on you,” a man said.

Markson pressed Ms Faruqi further for answers, saying pro-Palestine protests in Australia had hosted calls for death to the IDF, and “intifada”.


Woman disrupts Bondi Beach terror attack vigil with anti-Israel comments
Police have removed a woman from a memorial vigil for the Bondi Beach terror attack after she launched into a pro-Palestine protest and made anti-Israel comments.

Serial protester Michelle Berkon shouted accusations that others were politicising the tragedy and demanded Israeli flags be taken down, as she was escorted away from the vigil by police.

'Remove the Israeli flag. Depoliticise this event, and we can all come out here,' she said.

Berkon who was wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, was heckled by hundreds in the crowd, with chants of 'get her out'.

She later told the media that she was Jewish and believed she had a right to protest at the vigil.

'I came here today because I'm a Jewish person. My family was murdered in the Holocaust... This community has politicised this tragedy,' she said.

Berkon is a member of Jews Against the Occupation and claimed she was removed from the event due to 'aggressive Zionists'.

Jews Against the Occupation describes itself as a 'clear Jewish voice in support of Palestinian human and national rights'.

She is also a prominent member of the Palestine Action Group, behind the pro-Palestine protests that were held in Sydney's CBD.

Governor-General Sam Mostyn called Berkon's intervention 'incredibly disrespectful'.

'It was a disgrace and I know the community here reacted how they should.'

One mourner told the Daily Mail: 'This was meant to be a quiet moment of reflection, people were grieving, and suddenly it just descended into chaos.'


Commentary Podcast: The Intifada Really Goes Global
The attack on Bondi Beach is not an isolated incident; it's the export of the Islamist war against the Jews to areas far from Gaza.


'Intense Rage And Sadness' | Former Israeli Government Spokesman Eylon Levy On Bondi Beach Attack
Former Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy, speaks about the aftermath of the deadly attack in Bondi Beach, highlighting the intense rage and sadness within the Jewish community. He identified two main hypotheses for the attack: a state actor, possibly Iran, or a homegrown extremist movement fuelled by global anti-Israel sentiment.

Speaking to Talk's Peter Cardwell, Eylon said the Australian government has its head buried deep in the sand and "doesn't understand where this hatred is coming from."


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 67: Miracles in the dark. A response to Bondi.
This Hanukkah began in darkness, in the brutal massacre of Jews in Sydney, Australia. Our hearts are broken, but our light is not dimmed.

In this episode, we dive into the meaning of Hanukkah in the Jewish tradition and draw lessons from it for these painful times.

Chapters
00:00 Reflections on the Sydney Massacre
01:37 The Role of Western Societies in Radicalization
04:50 Historical Context of Jewish Communities
07:24 Lessons from Chanukah: Struggle and Miracles
16:49 The Debate of Two Giants: Rambam vs. Ramban
22:28 Miracles and Human Agency: Understanding Creation
29:55 Gratitude and Responsibility: The Heart of Hanukkah
38:13 Light in Darkness: The Lessons of Chanukah


Call me Back Podcast: EMERGENCY EPISODE: Deadly Attack in Sydney - with Nomi Kaltmann, Jeremy Leibler and Nadav Eyal
On Sunday, two gunmen opened fire on a crowd of Jews gathered to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. As of now, there are 16 confirmed deaths, and roughly 40 wounded, with the victims ranging from ages 10 to 87. It’s one of the deadliest attacks on Jews in the diaspora over the past few decades. The perpetrators are believed to be a father and son of Muslim, Pakestani origin. One was neutralized on scene and the other was shot and is in critical condition.

To discuss the antisemitic horror that unfolded in Sydney, Dan was joined by two members of the local Jewish community – Jeremy Leibler, President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, and Nomi Kaltmann, Australian lawyer and journalist for various Jewish and Israeli outlets, as well as Ark Media contributor Nadav Eyal.


The Free Press: A Dark Night for Australia’s Jews
This Sunday evening at Bondi Beach, the most popular beach in Sydney, two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration attended by more than a thousand people. At least 16 people were killed. Dozens were wounded. Victims ranged from just 10 to 87 years old.

This attack on Australia’s Jewish community comes after a steady rise in antisemitism in the country.

The FP's Rafaela Siewert sat down for a livestream with Erin Molan and Nomi Kaltmann to discuss what we know about this horrible event.

Erin Molan, a television presenter and host of The Erin Molan Show, was on her balcony near Bondi Beach last night when she heard the shots ring out. Nomi Kaltmann, a journalist, lawyer, and Tablet magazine’s Australia correspondent, told me about what the attack means for her Australian Jewish community.


Erin Molan: 'The Silence Ends Now!' Erin Molan Reacts To Bondi Beach Chanukah Attack
Erin Molan gives a raw and emotional reaction after hearing gunfire from her home near Bondi Beach. In this real-time message, Erin reflects on the heartbreak felt across Sydney, the fear within the local Jewish community, and what she believes Australia must confront in the days ahead.

This is not politics — it’s personal, human, and deeply local.

Erin shares what she saw, what she felt, and why this moment changes everything for so many families.


Erin Molan: Bondi Beach Attack: A Mother’s Search for Her 3-Year-Old in the Chaos
Bondi Beach, Sydney — Wayne and Vanessa Miller join Erin Molan to describe the terrifying moments they survived during the Hanukkah attack at Bondi, including the chaos, the separation from their children, and the rescue that saved their 3-year-old’s life. Erin is then joined by Rabbi Levi Wolff (Central Synagogue, Bondi) on the devastation inside the community — and what Australians (Jewish and non-Jewish) must do right now. Finally, national security & cybersecurity analyst Travis Hawley breaks down what the videos show about the gunmen, weapons, and response.

This is the most emotional episode Erin has ever done.

If you believe Australia can’t look away anymore: share this episode, subscribe, and leave a comment so this reaches the people who need to see it.

Chapters
00:00 Erin’s message from Bondi
07:45 Survivors Wayne & Vanessa Miller — what they saw
25:20 Rabbi Levi Wolff — the community, the grief, the call to action
32:20 Travis Hawley — what the footage suggests & what’s next


Bethany joins Hugh to discuss the reaction within the Jewish State to the massacre at Bondi Beach

Jonathan Sacerdoti: First the Chanukah people, then the Christmas people: the war hasn't ended, it has migrated



‘This has broken us’: Jewish community ‘shaken to its core’ after Bondi terror attack
Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-CEO Alex Ryvchin says the Jewish community in Australia has been “shaken to its core” after the Bondi Beach terror attack.


Pro-Palestine activist ‘antagonised’ people mourning Bondi massacre victims
Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus says a pro-Palestine activist “antagonised” people mourning the victims of the Bondi massacre.

Ms Marcus said people attending the memorial questioned why the police didn’t “move her on” faster.

The pro-Palestinian supporter claimed to be Jewish and protested against the politicisation of the event.


‘We have been dreading it’: Jewish community member on Bondi terrorist attack
Jewish community member Marnie Perlstein joins Sky News host Chris Kenny to go over the prior expectations surrounding potential antisemitic attacks in Australia amid the Bondi Beach massacre.

“We actually expected something like this could happen,” Ms Perlstein said.

“We have been dreading it.”


‘Handwringing impotence in the face of Jew hatred’: Tony Abbott slams Labor over Bondi massacre
Former prime minister Tony Abbott joins Sky News host Peta Credlin to analyse the Bondi Beach massacre.

“A country that has always prided itself with how well everyone got on,” Mr Abbott said.

“I think what we’ve seen from all levels of government in this country since October 7 is handwringing impotence in the face of example after example of Jew hatred.”




‘Dehumanising and demonising us’: Rabbi speaks on antisemitism following Bondi shooting
Sky News host Rita Panahi sits down with Caulfield Shule’s Rabbi Daniel Rabin to understand how the Bondi Beach massacre is affecting the Jewish community in Australia.

“If you have a Jewish community … identifies as Jewish and Zionist,” Mr Rabin told Ms Panahi.

“By dehumanising us, and demonising us, well then you’re going to build a society which will tolerate and even commit these horrendous acts.”




Gal Gadot ‘shattered’ as stars condemn deadly Bondi Beach terror attack at Hanukkah celebration
Hollywood stars, including Gal Gadot, Ashton Kutcher and Rebel Wilson, reacted to the mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration Sunday in Sydney, Australia.

Two gunmen descended upon the annual “Chanukah by the Sea” event on Bondi Beach Dec. 14, where members of the Jewish community gathered to light the ceremonial first candle on the menorah.

Sixteen people were killed in the shooting, including one of the two suspected gunmen, officials with the New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF) said. The second alleged shooter is in critical condition.

“My heart is shattered,” Gadot wrote on Instagram. “Following the anti-Semitic terror attack in Bondi Beach, Australia, the grief is immense. Fifteen innocent souls – including a Holocaust survivor, a rabbi and a child – were senselessly murdered while celebrating the first night of Chanukah, the Festival of Light.”

Gadot continued, “This darkness deliberately struck at a sacred moment of community and hope. It is easy to feel defeated. But let us be clear: our strength is not in despair, but in the light we fiercely choose to create in this terrible void.

“We must honor the victims not with silence, but by demanding a world where every life is safe, and by choosing empathy and unity above all else.”

“Send light into the darkness,” Gadot urged. “Let’s make sure love is the loudest voice. I will light my Chanukah candle tonight in their honor and for a world of light. Only light.”


Tories demand Labour return donations from Dale Vince after vile Bondi Beach rant
The Conservatives have called on the Labour Party to return all donations from eco warrior Dale Vince, after his response to yesterday’s Bondi Beech attack sparked furious reactions. Commenting on the massacre, which appeared to be deliberately targeted at Jews celebrating Hanukah, the Ecotricity founder posted: “Commenting on the shootings in Australia today Netanyahu said - Antisemitism spreads when leaders stay silent.

“Nothing to do with Isreal committing Genocide in Palestine then. Netanyahu wants antisemitism to be a thing, it validates him - he acts to make it so.” Mr Vince made no other comment on the shooting, that left over 15 dead including a Holocaust survivor. Amid furious backlash, the Tory Party’s chairman has now said Labour should return its funding from Mr Vince and condemn his comments.

Kevin Hollinrake blasted: “This is disgraceful. Any language that excuses or legitimises terrorism gives extremists cover and undermines our values.

“Labour must return all donations received from Mr Vince, refuse future ones, and make clear that terrorism has no moral ambiguity.”

Mr Vince has previously donated more than £5.5 million to the Labour Party, money which has already garnered controversy.




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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