Sunday, December 21, 2025

12/21 Links: Arsen Ostrovsky: My Family Survived Bondi Beach; The Real War Is Islamism's Infiltration of Western Democracies; Tucker Carlson named ‘Antisemite of the Year’

From Ian:

Arsen Ostrovsky: My Family Survived Bondi Beach
Three weeks after my family had relocated from Israel to Australia, we were in the crossfire on Bondi Beach. One of the gunmen's bullets hit my head. I fell to the ground and bled profusely. To my right, an elderly man crouched, covering his wife. He was also hit, not moving. To my left, a few feet away, I saw body parts strewn on the ground. Another man ripped off his shirt and lent it to me to help stop the blood gushing from my head. My wife had managed to escape unharmed and found refuge with our children. Doctors later told me it was millimeters between life and death, "a miracle" I survived.

Over the past two years, the Jewish community has warned time and again that when hatred is allowed to fester, when it is excused, normalized or mainstreamed, it inevitably leads to violence. Australia doesn't need another inquiry, strategy document or press release expressing sorrow. We need urgent, decisive action. Our laws must be enforced. Incitement must have consequences. Intelligence must be acted on and radical Islamic extremism must be confronted, not managed.
Bondi Was Not a Surprise
I am angry at the government for ignoring antisemitic violence and intimidation, at the media for whitewashing it, at the academics who provided it with intellectual legitimacy, and at everyone who marched and chanted and who justified or minimized antisemitism in Australia because of their feelings about a conflict on the other side of the globe.

I am angry at every official who failed to do their due diligence: in neglecting to vet immigrants from countries where vicious antisemitism is endemic; in allowing a man whose son was suspected of involvement with ISIS to legally own multiple firearms; in never taking a clear stand against Jew-hatred in this country. I am angry at the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, who has blamed the tragedy primarily on firearms and who seems unable to name the cause clearly. I can name it: the poisonous hatred of Jews.

I believe that a silent majority of Aussies are heartily sick of the attacks on our harmony, our culture, and our Jews. At Quillette, we stand with Jews in Australia, in Israel, and throughout the world. RIP: Boris Tetleroyd, Boris Gurman, Sofia Gurman, Reuven Morrison, Edith Brutman, Marika Pogany, Dan Elkayam, Eli Schlanger, Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Alex Kleytman, Tibor Weitzen, Adam Smyth, Tania Tretiak, and ten-year-old Matilda. May their memories be a blessing.
Jonathan Conricus: The Real War Is Islamism's Infiltration of Western Democracies
The global civilizational conflict between the Free World and the forces of Islamism - a movement that seeks not coexistence, but domination - has only begun. Islamism's most violent expression erupts in the bloodlust of Hamas, ISIS, or al-Qaeda. Yet its more patient, insidious face belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates - groups that have mastered the art of slow infiltration, cultural manipulation, and institutional takeover. Their ambition is the same: the imposition of Sharia and the submission of free societies.

I was raised in Malmo, Sweden, where I watched firsthand the quiet surrender of a liberal Western city to Islamist intimidation. Today, similar scenes unfold in London, Paris, Toronto, Sydney, and New York, where since Oct. 7, 2023, Islamists have marched openly through Western capitals, waving the flags of terror movements and calling for "global intifada."

The response from many Western governments has been paralysis: fear of being called "Islamophobic" outweighs the courage to name the threat. Listen carefully to what Islamists say in their own rallies and mosques. They boast of taking over Western institutions. They preach that democracy is a tool to be exploited until the day it can be replaced. They view liberal tolerance not as a virtue but as a weakness to be exploited.

The same ideology that sent Hamas terrorists across Israel's border on Oct. 7 now works methodically to seize student unions, civil-society groups, and local councils across Europe and North America. In Britain, dozens of municipalities are now governed by officials who declare loyalty not to the United Kingdom but to the global Islamic nation. In the process, this ideology has fueled a resurgence of antisemitism and social fragmentation in the West.

This war is not over. It will only end when Islamism - violent and non-violent alike - is defeated intellectually, financially, and politically. Education must be our front line. That begins with dismantling UNRWA, whose curriculum perpetuates hate and martyrdom in Gaza's classrooms. A generation taught that killing Jews is holy cannot build peace.

Governments should outlaw Islamist organizations where evidence ties them to terror networks. The Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates should be designated terrorist entities. Qatar and Turkey - state sponsors of this ideology - must face consequences, not indulgence. Political correctness is a luxury we can no longer afford. This war will decide the fate of the entire Free World.


‘Our hearts are broken into pieces, but we’re standing tall’, Chief Rabbi tells Sydney community
“Our hearts are broken into pieces, but we’re standing tall,” the Chief Rabbi said in a powerful address to the Jewish community of Australia this weekend.

Addressing a crowd at the Central Synagogue in Sydney after the attack that left 15 people dead at a Bondi Beach Chanukah party, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis offered words of strength.

“God wanted us to stand tall, to be proud of what we are about, [and] not to let our enemies define us according to their wrong assumptions of what we are about,” he said.

At a service attended by political leaders, dignitaries and members of the Jewish community – and during which Jewish leaders called for a federal royal commission into the Bondi terror attack – the Chief Rabbi appealed to the dignity of the Jewish people in the face of hostility.

“Nothing will ever stop us from occupying a public place to declare to the world that Jews are a blessing for all of humankind,” he said. “We’re proud of who we’re about, so should you. And ultimately, God will guarantee that Am Yisrael Chai: the Jewish people will live on forever.”

A crowd of up to 15,000 people gathered at Bondi on Sunday in a commemoration marking one week since the attack on the first day of Chanukah, and held a minute’s silence at 6.47pm, the time the onslaught began.

The service at Central Synagogue was the Chief Rabbi’s first stop on his visit to Sydney to pay tribute to the victims of the attack, among them 10-year-old Matilda, whose funeral he attended on Thursday.

In his address, the Chief Rabbi deplored the way hateful rhetoric – including the “demonisation of the world’s only Jewish state” – contributed to both the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur and the massacre at Bondi Beach, and called on authorities to tackle such language before it “becomes translated into hate crime”.

"The vile, poisonous statements and comments coming through millions of comments on a daily basis [online] are destabilising our societies and are encouraging people to believe the outright lies spoken about the state of Israel, Jews, and Judaism,” he said.

"Hateful extremism is a threat not just to Jews in this world, it's a threat to the very values which underpin our civilisation. And therefore, what happened on Bondi Beach is not merely a Jewish issue: it's something for all of Australia in the same way as Heaton Park was for the whole of the UK.”
Day of Reflection: Australia pauses to mourn Chanukah terror victims
Australia was observing a nationwide moment of remembrance on Sunday for the victims of the Bondi Beach Chanukah terrorist attack, one week after the massacre, with vigils taking place at 6:47 p.m., the time the shooting started.

Thousands gathered in Sydney’s eastern suburbs where the attack occurred to observe the minute of silence as part of events taking place across the country. Amid heightened security, the Jewish community of New South Wales held a vigil and commemoration for the victims and survivors at Bondi Beach. Dignitaries and religious leaders addressed the event.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the Day of Reflection “a moment for Australia to stand with our Jewish community.”

“At 6:47pm, you can light a candle in your window to remember the victims of the antisemitic terrorist attack in Bondi and support those who are grieving,” he continued. “Standing together to show that hatred and violence will never define who we are.”

In a public statement on Saturday, Albanese said that the declaration for Sunday’s remembrance event was made on Friday in coordination with New South Wales, saying that “Australia will not allow these evil antisemitic terrorists to divide us. Light will triumph, and that is what Chanukah is about.”

Albanese and his government in Canberra have faced criticism, including from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for not doing enough to combat rising antisemitism in the lead-up to the Sydney attack. He is also facing accusations of avoiding confronting jihadist Islamic violence by deflecting to gun control in the wake of the massacre.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess said he will fully cooperate with the government’s review of national security agencies announced on Sunday by Albanese, The Guardian reported.

Burgess said the review would help clear up “false statements” circulating since the Bondi Beach terror attack and restore public confidence. He added that ASIO had already begun an internal review of its decision-making after the attack, and that findings would be shared with the government and made public. Burgess said the agency welcomed scrutiny but rejected claims that ASIO failed to pass on intelligence or deprioritized counter-terrorism efforts.

Fifteen people were murdered in the terrorist attack during a Chanukah celebration at Archer Park on Dec. 14, including Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, who led the Chabad mission in Bondi for 18 years, and non-Jewish passerby Adam Smyth, a 50-year-old father of four. The youngest victim was 10-year-old Matilda.
‘Light will win’: Rabbi Ulman reflects on Bondi Beach massacre
Rabbi Yehoram Ulman reflects on the past week of mourning since the Bondi Beach massacre, stating that the “darkest form of evil” had violated the joy of Hanukkah.

“I have shared in weddings and births, tears and laughter … year after year we have gathered here to light candles, Hanukkah candles, because we believe in bringing light into the world,” Mr Ulman said.

“Last week was meant to be a festival of joy … instead, the darkest form of evil violated that sacred space.”


Australians will not be ‘dictated’ to with ‘violence and fear’: ECAJ Director
Executive Council of Australian Jewry Daniel Aghion spoke at the ‘Light over Darkness’ vigil in memorial for the victims of the Bondi Beach massacre.

“The ISIS terrorists do not decide who we are and what our future will be,” Mr Aghion said.

“We Australians make that decision, we Australians will not be dictated to by anyone and especially not those who wield violence and fear in the name of hate.”


Israeli president: Antisemitism ‘a global emergency’
Antisemitism is “a global emergency” that requires strong leadership to combat it around the world, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Sunday, speaking at his official residence in Jerusalem.

“In each nation, combating antisemitism requires very strong and tough measures and strong leaders,” Herzog said in an address marking one week since the terrorist attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach and amid rising Jew-hatred around the globe. “It requires ordinary people rejecting lies and bias, embracing diversity, humanity and truth.”

He continued, “The rise of Jew-hatred across the world is a global emergency. The battle against antisemitism must be everyone’s battle.”

The president said in his holiday message that he hopes to visit the Australian Jewish community soon.

“Tragically, this year instead of lighting the first candle, our sisters and brothers ran for cover,” Herzog said. “Tonight, on the eighth final candle of Chanukah, I want to say to the Jews of Australia: The people of Israel are with you.”

Fifteen people were murdered and scores were wounded during the Dec. 14 Chanukah attack in Sydney.


‘We are going nowhere’: Chris Minns attends Bondi beach massacre vigil
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns attended the ‘Light over Darkness’ vigil for the victims of the Bondi massacre.

“Bondi is beautiful tonight … because you in your thousands, in your defiance, in your resistance and resolve, you have returned to these sands just seven days after a shocking crime and have said to the terrorists, we are going nowhere,” Mr Minns said.

“Jews have stood up to this intimidation for thousands of years … you have reclaimed Bondi Beach for us.”


‘I’m absolutely heartbroken’: Kellie Sloane addresses ‘Light over Darkness' vigil
New South Wales Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane delivers a speech at the ‘Light over darkness’ event in commemoration of those who perished at the Bondi Beach massacre last Sunday.

“I love this community, I love Bondi, but I’m absolutely heartbroken to be standing before you in these circumstances,” Ms Sloane said.

“I’m someone who witnessed the absolute devastation, firsthand, last Sunday.”


First responders honoured with Shamash lighting during Bondi vigil
Bondi Beach Lifesaver Anthony ‘Harries’ Carroll and Olympic Champion Jessica Fox attend the ‘Life over Darkness’ vigil and welcome first responders and those on their behalf to light a Shamash candle in memory of the victims of the massacre.

Mr Carroll said “we love and adore” the Jewish community.

Ms Fox said the events have “shaken us deeply”.


Former Labor MPs break ranks to demand Royal Commission into Bondi Beach massacre after Albanese announces departmental review
Former Labor MPs Nova Peris and Michael Danby have joined growing calls for a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.

It comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a lesser review into federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the wake of the shooting.

Mr Albanese snubbed a Royal Commission, which would have allowed a more far-reaching inquiry into antisemitism and the events surrounding the massacre.

Ms Peris, a Labor Senator in the Gillard government, said she “100 per cent” believed Mr Albanese should launch a Royal Commission - the highest form of public inquiry.

She described the need for an urgent and explicit inquiry after attending the funeral of 10-year-old victim Matilda and speaking at a Bondi Beach gathering.

“Australia cannot afford another inquiry that hides behind process or vague language,” Ms Peris told Sky News.

“The Terms of Reference must be explicit and focused on religious extremism, including Islamist extremism and terrorism.”

She said the inquiry should examine how extremist ideology has been allowed to occur, where the law has failed and how freedoms have been misused.

Former Labor MP Michael Danby also spoke out, calling for a Royal Commission while also warning of broader security risks which needed to be addressed.

“I think there should be a Royal Commission, but that's in my view less pressing than reconvening of federal parliament to pass the Segal recommendations,” he said.

Mr Albanese has so far refused to convene parliament in order to urgently pass laws responding to recommendations from antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal.


Tikvah PodCast: Rabbi Ben Elton on Australian Jewry after Bondi Beach
On the evening of December 14, 2025—the first night of Hanukkah—Rabbi Benjamin Elton was driving home from performing a wedding, looking forward to lighting candles with his family. Then his phone began to explode with messages. There were gunmen at Bondi Beach. His wife and children were in lockdown at a nearby event. Names of the dead were coming through—colleagues, community members. For several terrible minutes, he couldn't reach his wife. And he wondered whether he was going to come home to find that he had lost his family.

By the time the shooting stopped, fifteen people were dead, among them two rabbis, an eighty-seven-year-old Holocaust survivor, and a ten-year-old girl. They had been gunned down at a public Hanukkah celebration on one of Australia's most iconic beaches, before a large crowd of Jews who had gathered to light the menorah in the open air—because that's what confident, integrated diaspora communities do.

The massacre at Bondi Beach was the culmination of two years of escalating anti-Semitism that the community had been warning about since October 7. Synagogues firebombed with congregants inside. Cars set ablaze in Jewish neighborhoods. Swastikas painted on schools and daycares. Weekly pro-Palestinian marches past synagogues, with chants of "globalize the intifada." A van discovered full of explosives along with a list of the addresses of Jewish institutions. And through it all, a government that offered sympathy and money for security, but never quite confronted the deeper problem. Until, finally, the community's darkest warnings came true.

Rabbi Benjamin Elton is the chief minister of the Great Synagogue in Sydney—Australia's oldest Jewish congregation, founded in the 1820s, whose pulpit has traditionally made its occupant a primary representative of Judaism to the wider society. He holds a PhD in Jewish history from the University of London, and before entering the rabbinate, he worked in Britain's Ministry of Justice. He is a scholar of Anglo-Jewish history, a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a Sacks scholar, and, just over a decade ago, spent a year in residence as a fellow at Tikvah. This week, Rabbi Elton has been burying his friends.

He joined Jonathan Silver, the editor of Mosaic, to discuss the recent trials of his family and community, and the growing threat to Australian Jewish security.
Gefen Bitton, Israeli who tried to stop Bondi Beach shooter, in coma in critical condition
Israeli national Gefen Bitton, who ran towards the Bondi Beach shooters to try and stop them, has been hospitalized and is in a coma, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday.

Bitton was seriously wounded while trying to assist and stop the attackers. The man in his 30s works as a garage door installer. Although he had initially managed to escape the danger, he chose to return to the scene upon realising what was happening.

"Not a mere bystander, but an absolute hero who deserves recognition,” his friend Cay Barr said, as per the Morning Herald. “He is currently in the ICU, after multiple surgeries, and has a long way to go. We are praying that in the next few days, he will be stable enough to wake up.”

Social media footage shows Bitton approaching one of the attackers with another man, appearing to distract the gunman in an effort to protect others.

Bitton was shot three times by the attacker, who was armed with a hunting rifle. The second man, Syrian national Ahmed al-Ahmed, received widespread praise for his actions and was awarded a cheque for approximately 2.5 million Australian dollars. He was also injured during the incident.

Israeli citizen who tried to stop Bondi attackers in coma Australian media reported that Bitton has undergone complex surgeries and remains in the intensive care unit. His condition is described as serious but stable, and he is suffering from significant internal wounds. Friends and relatives say he does not see himself as a hero, having acted purely on instinct.

Bitton had gone to Bondi Beach to celebrate Hanukkah with a friend after a long day of hiking. When the shooting began, Bitton and his friend ran away.

Within seconds, Bitton had vanished. Another friend later received a call from Bitton’s sister in Israel: “My brother just called. He said he was shot twice, and then the line disconnected.”

From that point, relatives and friends searched for any sign of him. With no information on his whereabouts or condition, they combed Bondi. They later went from hospital to hospital until he was located at St Vincent’s Hospital, already undergoing surgery for multiple gunshot wounds.


One week after murder of Jews in Australia, questions remain about Islamist and far left Jew-hatred
Jonathan Sacerdoti discusses rising antisemitism and the influence of obsessive anti-Israel protests and government action.


Labor has a Jewish problem. If this wasn’t clear before Bondi, it is now
Danby calls it a mechanical approach. “The zeitgeist that people are picking up, from the leadership down the grassroots, is these people are not sympathetic, don’t have their backs and keep making mechanical statements while letting the thing rip beneath the surface.”

Beneath the parliamentary ranks of the ALP, party life can be challenging for Jews. Within the NSW division of Young Labor, there are only a handful of Jews and most of them will soon be too old to keep their memberships. At last month’s state conference, they passed a resolution which opened a window into the harassment and bigotry that Jews have faced at local branch meetings.

“Many young Jewish members remain proud Labor people, campaigners, organisers and unionists, but are increasingly absent from Young Labor spaces,” it warned. “That is not because Jewish people have turned away from the Labor’s values but because at times, Young Labor has not lived up to them.

“When our Jewish members have sought solidarity from our comrades, too often they have been met with silence, qualification or excuses ... Bigotry at branch meetings has gone unchallenged. Others have turned a blind eye when campus allies have targeted Jewish students irrespective of their political beliefs. Young, progressive and enthusiastic Jewish students who want nothing more than to contribute to our movement are being pushed away by our growing tolerance for intolerance.”

Dean Sherr, a former adviser to Dalidakis, Burns and Albanese and an active Jewish member of the party, says this reflects a broader political schism across progressive politics. “Within the broader Labor movement, there is a strong undercurrent which is very critical of Israel and much to the left of the parliamentary parties, both state and federal, as with most issues,” he says.

“Palestine has been held up as the litmus test in certain sections of the progressive world. You have to accept the prescribed, progressive position on Palestine or you’re a Zionist and you’re cast out.” A challenge for the Labor Party, he says, is to resist this pressure and hold a more moderate line.

Fisher says all state and federal leaders have condemned antisemitism but to restore the trust of the Jewish community, they need to identify and address the principal cause. “Whatever motivated these terrorists, Sunday sits at the apex of two years of vilification and incitement,” he says. “Jews are being demonised because Israel, and their connection to Israel, has been demonised and delegitimised, well beyond criticism of its government and the war. That is the essence of what is driving this hatred.”

Albanese has acknowledged his government could have done more to counter Jew hatred before the Bondi killings. On Thursday, he belatedly adopted Segal’s recommendations. He said new laws, which are yet to be drafted, would target hate preachers and hate speech. David Gonski will lead a new taskforce which will focus on weeding antisemitism out of universities. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will be given more power to deny visas to people who express hatred for Jews. This follows two parliamentary inquiries into antisemitism on campus and calls since July by Jewish leaders for all governments to put Segal’s recommendations into action.

In the meantime, Jewish businesses targeted by bigotry last week closed their doors until further notice. Within two days of the Bondi shootings, the Surry Hills bakery of celebrity chef Ed Halmagyi was tagged with a bright-red, inverted triangle symbol used by Hamas’ Al-Qassam brigades to identify Israeli targets.

The same symbol, which has been openly adopted by pro-Palestine protest groups in Australia, was last year used to target Melbourne wine seller Tim Cohen. It was also painted on Albanese’s electoral office and the US Consulate in Sydney and prominently displayed at a free Palestine protest event on Bondi Beach. Cohen has since closed his business, and on Wednesday, Halmagyi announced he could no longer ensure the safety of his staff, their families and his customers. “After two years of almost ceaseless harassment, vandalism and intimidation directed at our little bakery, we have to be realistic about the threats that exist going forward.”

The day after the Bondi attacks, the Goldstone Gallery in Collingwood also posted a note on its website saying it had closed due to safety concerns. The gallery was established by Nina Sanadze, an artist doxed alongside 600 Jewish creatives in the early months of the war, to give ostracised Jewish artists somewhere to show their works. Above the short message, Sanadze reproduced a famous, black and white photograph, taken in 1931 Germany, showing an unlit menorah sitting in a window sill across the street from a Nazi flag.

On the steps of Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral, Rabbi Ben Elton from Sydney’s Great Synagogue, speaking in the company of the prime minster, urged all Australians to finally accept what we must confront.

“Over the past two years, antisemitism in Australia has run riot. It has not been checked. It has not been stopped. Whatever has been done has been insufficient. On Sunday evening that became an unarguable fact. The time for evading, of muddying the issue, is over. The time for distracting, for gaslighting, for manufacturing complexity where it does not exist, is over.

“We can have all the political disagreements in the world and we should be able to express them reasonably. But hateful rhetoric has to stop. Demonisation has to stop. Pandering to movements that want to kill every Jew, everywhere, has to stop.”
Man charges at Anthony Albanese shouting 'blood on your hands' as cops swoop to hold him back during vigil for Bondi terror victims - after PM arrived to jeers and cries of 'shame'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been heckled while attending the Bondi Beach memorial ahead of a nationwide Day of Reflection to mark a week since the horrific mass shooting.

A man was spotted running towards Albanese while yelling 'blood on your hands' as he arrived with a large security team and new wife, Jodie, by his side.

The man was obstructed by police after jumping off a brick retaining wall and ordered to leave the area. No arrest was made.

An estimated 15,000 people have arrived at the memorial near Bondi Pavilion ahead of a vigil planned for 6.47pm, the moment police started receiving reports of a shooting last Sunday.

On that day, alleged gunman Naveed Akram and his father, Sajid Akram, opened fire on a Jewish festival celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

During the alleged terror attack, 15 innocent lives were lost and dozens more were rushed to hospital - where 13 remain.

Albanese on Friday asked everyone around Australia to observe a minute's silence at 6.47pm on Sunday in honour of the victims.

However, the Prime Minister wasn't popular among attendees of the vigil at Bondi Beach, where the alleged shooting unfolded, and arrived to a booing crowd.
‘Blood on your hands’: Albanese heckled and booed in Bondi massacre vigil
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was heckled and booed prior, during and after the ‘Light over Darkness’ vigil for the victims of the Bondi Beach massacre.




Tense scenes as defiant Palestine supporter is heckled at Bondi Beach before he is led away by cops
Tense scenes unfolded at Bondi Beach on the National Day of Reflection after a pro-Palestine supporter was escorted away by cops.

The man, who wore a keffiyeh, was heckled by locals as he visited the area in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Sunday.

'Why are you here?' one person said to him.

'You're not welcome,' another said.

NSW Police officers approached the man and spoke with him.

The man was reportedly heard asking officers: 'Why should I take this off?'

'I came here on a day of reflection to reflect.'

NSW Police confirmed the man was issued a move-on direction and that he complied with it.


Major development after Bondi Beach terror attack as two Aussie men are probed over link to alleged shooters' Philippines trip
Authorities are probing whether two Australian men were linked to the alleged Bondi Beach terrorists during their four-week stay in the Philippines.

Philippines National Police (PNP) officers are investigating if the two men from Sydney crossed paths with accused gunmen Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed, 24.

Sajid was shot dead and Naveed taken into custody after last Sunday's horrific Hanukkah Bondi Beach attack left 15 dead and dozens more injured.

It was revealed the Akrams spent a month staying at a budget $24 a night hotel in Davao City prior to the December 14 shootings.

Philippines police are also probing what happened during a meeting the Akrams had with a Muslim cleric, which was captured on CCTV, The Daily Telegraph reported.

It's been reported the two Sydney men were in Davao City at a time which 'overlapped with the Akrams’ stay'.

The alleged killers and the two other men did not visit any tourist spots during their stays, which is only a ten-hour drive from an Islamic State-linked terror training ground.

One of the additional men, believed to be in his 50s, flew from Sydney to Manila before travelling to Davao City on November 8.
Australia arrests suspect for alleged antisemitic threats on flight to Sydney
Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested a man charged with allegedly threatening violence towards a member of the Jewish community on a flight from Bali, Indonesia, to Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday.

AFP officers arrested him upon his arrival at Sydney International Airport.

The 19-year-old man is alleged to have made antisemitic threats and hand gestures expressing violence against the victim.

The offense carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, AFP noted, adding that the defendant was refused bail.

The man, who is from the western Sydney suburb of Condell Park, has been charged "with one count of threatening force or violence against members of groups or close associates, contrary to section 80.2BB(2) of the Criminal Code (Cth)," AFP confirmed.
Fewer than one in ten British Jews believe authorities do enough to combat antisemitism, poll finds
Fewer than one in ten British Jews believe that the authorities are doing enough to address and punish antisemitism, a new survey has found.

According to a poll of nearly 4,500 self-identified British Jews taken between November 3 and 10 this year by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), just 10 per cent of British Jews believe that reporting an antisemitic hate crime would lead to prosecution, revealing a remarkably low level of confidence in the British police and criminal justice system.

Most British Jews surveyed by CAA (91 per cent) said they do not think that the authorities are doing enough to tackle religious extremism, and only 14 per cent believe that the police do enough to protect them.

When asked if, overall, they think the current government has been good for the Jewish community, bad for the Jewish community, or somewhere in between, 80 per cent of respondents said the current government has been bad for the Jewish community, while only 4 per cent believe the opposite.

Participants took particular issue with British authorities’ responses to antisemitism and extremism; 81 per cent of those surveyed said the Labour Party was too tolerant of antisemitism among their officeholders, and just 7 per cent of British Jews think that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does enough to protect them.

Ninety-two per cent of British Jews consider the far-left to be a serious threat – compared to 65 per cent who think that of the far-right – close to the 96 per cent who see Islamists in the same way.


Gun-toting illegal boat migrant who called for 'death to all Jews' is freed to roam British streets... only days after Bondi Beach massacre
A small-boat migrant who called for the death of all Jews has been freed from prison to roam the streets of Britain in a move which has struck fear into the community days after the Bondi Beach massacre, the Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Prison bosses have released Palestinian gun-toting militant Abu Wadee, 34, after he served nine months behind bars for illegally entering the UK on a dinghy.

Wadee, a known ‘Hamas supporter’, posted about his freedom from custody on social media – accompanied by a moody selfie – and has already lodged an asylum claim to stay in the UK.

The Mail on Sunday understands he is staying in a bail hostel and wearing an electronic tag. The Home Office has refused to confirm whether he will be deported.

On Saturday night, members of the Jewish community and campaigners branded Wadee a ‘dangerous extremist’ and urged the Government to deport him immediately because of the wider threat he posed.

Their calls come in the aftermath of shootings in Sydney on December 14 which killed 15 people celebrating Hanukkah and an attack on British soil just two months ago, where Jews were targeted at a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur.

Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism group said: ‘The Home Office owes the public answers, and given the potential threat, we need them now.

‘British Jews can see that from Manchester to Sydney, the intifada has been well and truly globalised. The authorities need to get a grip – we are out of time.’
Jews attacked en route to Hanukkah candle lighting at Istanbul synagogue
Jews were attacked on their way to light the eighth Hanukkah candle at Neve Shalom Synagogue in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, on Sunday night.

The antisemitic and anti-Israel attackers can be seen in footage shouting "These Zionists, leave this country" and "we don't want Zionists." Local police intervened.

The confrontation came after anti-Israel groups and individuals planned a protest against the Hanukkah event, as it was reportedly organized by a 'pro-IDF' Jewish tour guide named Emi Uygun.

As evidence, the anti-Israel groups shared screenshots of Emi Uygun's social media comments and posts, which included commenting a sad face and "rest in peace, beautiful souls" on posts by Stand With Us about fallen soldiers.

She also posted celebratory comments under posts about the killing of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh.

"We don't want to see Zionist Emi Uygun in our country. We will continue to expose her and other such Zionists with blood on their hands one by one," said one Pro-Palestinian group.

Uygun has apparently deleted Instagram, as the user is no longer found.

However, The Jerusalem Post assessed her LinkedIn, which shows she specializes in Jewish Heritage tours in Turkey. She has also consistently posted support for Israel, spoken about Israeli hostages and posted in memory of fallen soldiers. This was seemingly the reason for the protest.

According to a bio on the page Private Guide World, Uygun has been a guide since 2000. She speaks English and Hebrew and is originally from Izmir.

One of the protesters posted on X that police and Special Operations 24/7 broke apart the protest to "protect the Zionists."


Anne Bayefsky: Scandal Leaves International Criminal Court Grasping for Legitimacy amid Probe of Israel
The top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, faces serious allegations of criminal misconduct, including claims of repeated sexual assault. Khan has been on paid leave since May.

Khan's reported suggestion that his accuser - who is also Muslim - was influenced by Israeli intelligence has drawn skepticism.

On May 2, 2024, Khan learned that word of the allegations had circulated within the ICC as he and his staff were preparing for a trip to Israel, following an extraordinary offer of cooperation from Jerusalem.

Instead, on May 20, Khan abruptly canceled the trip and very publicly announced on CNN that he was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Americans, Israelis and even ICC staff speculated about the timing, arguing that Khan hoped that framing Israel would lead to circling the wagons around him. He has been using Israel as a foil to defend himself against personal allegations.
The Growing Threat from the ICC to America
The Trump Administration sanctioned two more judges of the International Criminal Court on Thursday, but meeting the growing threat from the ICC to America requires stronger action.

The ICC in The Hague has no jurisdiction over the U.S. or Israel, which are not members, but that won't stop the court.

Prominent international lawyers, along with expert ICC advisers, have been pushing the court to prosecute President Trump. After his term in office ends, he will be vulnerable.

The Hague has no business exercising jurisdiction over U.S. leaders or troops. But the ICC doesn't see it that way.

In May 2024 the court threatened Members of Congress who urged sanctions against it. Their crime? Obstruction of justice under the court's founding Rome Statute, which the U.S. never ratified. This is international lawlessness, not law.

Sanctioning a few staff members every few months won't deter ICC abuse. The way to change this is to sanction the institution as a whole until it changes course to respect its original legal limits.
2025 was a very bad year for the International Criminal Court
Back in February, the respected Justice Info website published an article titled “Thinking about the death of the ICC and what comes next.” If not quite in the morgue, the International Criminal Court is definitely in the intensive-care unit.

In the last year, both the United States and Russia have imposed sanctions on what Washington describes as a politically motivated “kangaroo court.” Moscow sentenced the chief prosecutor and eight ICC judges to lengthy prison terms in absentia. Washington’s sanctions mean no email, no bank accounts, no credit cards, no online shopping, eBay, PayPal or Ubers, and no U.S. travel visas for several judges and their families.

No more Alexa, either. The court has had to change its operating software and might not be able to pay its employees. It is preparing for the worst.

The court has lost its prosecutor, Karim Khan, who stepped aside in May following allegations of sexual misconduct. The ICC has also lost five State Parties across three continents in 2025: Hungary, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Venezuela. Burundi, the Philippines and Malaysia have already left. And key European ICC members have demonstrated a marked reluctance to execute ICC arrest warrants. Other State Parties are voting with their wallet.

ICC member states are at least 74 million euros ($87 million) in default of their contributions, of which 50 million euros ($58.5 million) relates to the 2025 budget. A total of 37 States Parties have outstanding contributions of more than one year, and 16 of those are now ineligible, or simply unwilling, to participate in ICC affairs.

It has all gone spectacularly wrong. Critics claim that the ICC has squandered an enormous amount of goodwill, political capital and billions of dollars while destroying its own credibility, legitimacy and respect.

Based in The Hague, along with the International Criminal Court, the ICC opened its doors in 2002, pledging to pursue the most serious of international crimes without fear or favor. The ICC started to go wrong very early on, running headlong into accusations of institutional racism, judicial gerrymandering and political selectivity, simply making things up as it went along.

Fatal flaws were there from the start: The court is a Frankenstein monster of conflicting legal systems cobbled together by the non-governmental organizations that gave birth to it and continue to meddle in its affairs. It has simply not lived up to the claims made by the court’s proponents and by the court itself.


Israel hosting trilateral summit with Greece and Cyprus on Dec. 22
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a trilateral meeting in Jerusalem on Monday with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, according to Netanyahu’s office.

The three eastern Mediterranean allies, who share a budding strategic partnership focused on energy, defense and economic ties, are reportedly examining the creation of a joint rapid-response military force in the region amid growing concern in Athens over Turkey’s expanding challenges.

Netanyahu will hold a bilateral meeting with each leader and then will host a trilateral summit, according to the statement.

Israel, Greece and Cyprus had long been working on a mammoth energy deal that would link their electrical grids, as well as a project for cooperation on natural gas.


The Most Powerful Weapon Against Terror Isn’t Military — It’s Legal
In this powerful weekend special of The Erin Molan Show, Erin sits down with Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, one of the world’s leading legal minds using the courtroom — not the battlefield — to hold extremists accountable.

As President of Shurat Hadin – Israel Law Center, Nitsana has spent decades pursuing civil cases against terror networks, their financial backers, and the institutions that enable them — winning landmark judgments and cutting off the flow of money that fuels violence.

In this conversation, she explains:
How terror networks are being defeated through law and litigation
Why targeting finances is one of the most effective tools available to democracies
How civil courts can deliver justice for victims when criminal cases fall short
And why the legal strategies used overseas matter right now for Australia and the wider Western world

This is a rare look inside a hidden front of the global fight for accountability — and a reminder that justice doesn’t always come from force, but from persistence, law, and moral clarity.


Eugene Kontorovich: JNF: 12.18.25 - The Recognition Dilemma

Jonathan Sacerdoti: Free speech isn’t right wing — Josh Howie explains how the left lost the plot and truth lost out
For years, British public life told itself a comforting lie: that tolerance meant silence, that compassion meant compliance, and that asking hard questions was somehow immoral. Josh Howie no longer believes that story. In this uncompromising conversation with Jonathan Sacerdoti, Howie explains how comedy, journalism and politics were quietly captured by fear. Not fear of violence, but fear of social punishment: being labelled, deplatformed, or cast out for stating obvious truths.

Now host of Free Speech Nation on GB News, Howie describes how institutions surrendered their authority through cowardice rather than coercion. He traces how activists reshaped language, how journalists abandoned clarity, and how dissent was redefined as extremism.

He also speaks candidly about antisemitism on the contemporary left, the vulnerability of Jews caught between hostile extremes, and why historical memory makes neutrality impossible. What emerges is a conversation about free speech not as a slogan, but as the last line of defence between democracy and ideological conformity.

👁‍🗨 Watch if you want to understand how Britain reached a point where telling the truth feels like a political act.

💬 We discuss:
🎭 Why comedians became the last people willing to speak plainly
📰 How mainstream media normalised omission and distortion
🧠 The capture of language and the policing of thought
⚖️ Why women’s rights and biological reality were reframed as hate
🕍 Antisemitism on the left and the collapse of old political loyalties
🏛️ How institutions surrendered authority through fear and careerism
🧭 Political homelessness and the erosion of left–right meaning
🚨 Why dissent is now treated as danger rather than necessity
🗣️ Free speech as a cultural immune system — and what happens when it fails




Fury as Queen Victoria statue desecrated with pro-Palestine graffiti in support of hunger strikers
A statue of Queen Victoria has been defaced with graffiti that appears to support the pro-Palestine hunger strikers.

Photos of the statue of the former monarch in Endcliffe Park, west Sheffield, show a huge quantity of red paint splattered across it, with the words 'END THE HUNGER' written on its base in green.

The statue is located near the park's main entrance, just off the Hunter's Bar roundabout.

These colours are associated with the Palestinian flag, while the phrase appears to suggest that the perpetrator did this in support of the six Palestine Action activists on hunger strike as they await their trials for alleged criminal damage, aggravated burglary and violent disorder at a factory for Elbit Systems and in relation to a break-in at RAF Brize Norton.

While it is not known exactly when the vandalism took place, photos of the damage first appeared on social media on Saturday morning.

One local man wrote: 'Very bad vandalism in Endcliffe park. Do not know when it happened. Worst I have ever seen upon Victoria. FREE THE HUNGER slogan. I hope they do not harm the war memorial too.'


Tucker Carlson named ‘Antisemite of the Year’ by prominent Jewish organization after alarming interviews
Podcaster Tucker Carlson was named “Antisemite of the Year” by a prominent Jewish civil rights group for offering platforms to Jew haters and bashers on his show.

Carlson’s dubious distinction from StopAntisemitism comes as fallout continues from a friendly October interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who has pushed conspiracy theories about “Jewish control” of US politics, media and finance; denied the Holocaust; and called for what he described as a “holy war” against Jews.

“By an overwhelming vote margin, Tucker Carlson has been named StopAntisemitism’s 2025 Antisemite of the Year,” StopAntisemitism founder and executive director Liora Rez told The Post.

“Carlson’s divisive, hateful, and dangerous rhetoric and his repeated glowing interviews with bigots and Hitler apologists have made him the most reviled Jew-hater over the last 12 months,” Rez added.

Carlson’s interview with Fuentes drew controversy from the start, with the white nationalist telling the host he was a “fan” of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who promoted policies that discriminated against Jews.

Carlson himself slammed “Christian Zionists” for supporting Israel, saying they had been “seized by this brain virus” during the chat — singling out former President George W. Bush, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

“I dislike them more than anybody,” said Carlson, a former Fox News host.

The interview sparked immediate condemnation and created a rift on the political right, with some conservatives such as Ben Shapiro saying right-leaning groups should sever ties with Carlson while others defended him, including Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts.

StopAntisemitism had named Carlson its “Antisemite of the Week” in October, before the Fuentes controversy.




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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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