At least 12 people were killed and almost 30 wounded when gunmen fired on a Jewish holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday in what Australian police and officials described as a terrorist attack.
Netanyahu said the shooting was “cold blooded murder” and that antisemitism “spreads when leaders stay silent.”
“You must replace weakness with action,” he said.
Meanwhile AFP reported Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged Canberra to act against the “surge” in antisemitism during a phone call with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong.
In a post on X, Saar said he told Wong “that since Oct 7 there has been a surge in antisemitism in Australia, including violent incitement against Israel and Jews”.
“The Australian government must take strong action against the use of these antisemitic calls,” he added, referring to slogans sometimes heard at pro-Palestinian protests, such as “Globalise the Intifada”, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free”, and “Death to the IDF (Israeli army)”.
President Isaac Herzog called the shooting a “very cruel attack on Jews who went to light the first candle of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach”.
In a speech at an event in Jerusalem, Herzog called on Australia to “fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism” plaguing its society.
The shooting targeted the annual “Hanukkah by the Sea” gathering marking the first night of the Jewish festival on Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach.
Prime Minister Albanese condemned it as “an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation”.
“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian,” he said.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted on X that “the blood of the victims is on the hands of the Australian government, which announced recognition of a ‘Palestinian’ state and gave legitimacy to terrorism against Jews”.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he was “horrified” by the attack.
“Boulder. Manchester. Washington. And now Sydney. The names of more and more cities around the world are becoming synonymous with deadly attacks against Jews. Stopping these horrors requires immediate, decisive intervention at all levels,” he said on X.