An Australian inquiry opened public hearings Monday into an antisemitic shooting that killed 15 people at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
The federal royal commission — the highest level of government inquiry — was called to probe factors leading to the attack by two gunmen on Jewish families at Australia’s most famous beach in December.
Public hearings began with members of Sydney’s Jewish community expected to talk about their experience of antisemitism.
“The sharp spike of antisemitism that we have witnessed in Australia has been mirrored in other Western countries and seems clearly linked to events in the Middle East,” inquiry chief Virginia Bell said in opening remarks.
“It’s important that people understand how quickly those events can prompt ugly displays of hostility towards Jewish Australians simply because they are Jews.”
The inquiry had received thousands of submissions about the impact of “one of society’s oldest hatreds”, said counsel assisting the inquiry, Zelie Hegen.
She pointed to antisemitic chants during a protest against the war in Gaza outside Sydney’s Opera House in October 2023, shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel.
The rally created fear in Australia’s Jewish community, she said.
Jewish community groups recorded 2,062 antisemitic incidents in the following year.
A “summer of terror” saw a string of arson and graffiti attacks against synagogues and Jewish businesses in Sydney and Melbourne, she said.
Sajid Akram and son Naveed are accused of opening fire as Jewish families thronged Bondi Beach for a Hanukkah celebration in December, carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting for 30 years.
Alleged gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the assault.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen who remains in prison, has been charged with terrorism and 15 murders.
