Israeli officials on Sunday quickly laid the blame for the deadly shooting in Sydney, Australia, at the feet of the national government, saying it had ignored “numerous warning signs” of anti-Semitism.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu read during a government meeting a letter he sent to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this year, in which Albanians expressed support for a Palestinian state.
“Your call for a Palestinian state adds fuel to the anti-Semitic fire. It rewards Hamas terrorists. It emboldens those who threaten Australian Jews and emboldens the Jew-hatred now creeping through your streets. Anti-Semitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders remain silent; it recedes when leaders take action. I call on you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with determination,” Netanyahu read.
“Instead, Prime Minister, you replaced weakness with weakness and reconciliation with more reconciliation. Your government did nothing to stop the spread of anti-Semitism in Australia. You did nothing to curb the cancer cells growing in your country. You took no action. You allowed the disease to spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we have seen today,” Netanyahu said.
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Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also issued unusually grim statements after Sunday’s shooting, which left at least 11 people dead and 29 hospitalized.
“Time and time again, we have called on the Australian government to take action and fight against the massive wave of anti-Semitism sweeping Australian society,” Herzog said in a statement on social media, posting an image of a blood-stained prayer shawl.
Saar was even more critical of Australian authorities, arguing that they had ignored clear signs of rising Islamist extremism and anti-Semitism.
“I am shocked by the murderous shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia. This is the result of the anti-Semitic frenzy on the streets of Australia over the past two years, including the anti-Semitic and inflammatory calls of ‘Globalize the Intifada’, which were realized today,” Saar said in a statement, sharing the same photo as Herzog.
“The Australian government, which has received numerous warning signs, must come to its senses!” he added.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the shooting in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday. (Reuters/Mozes Mwape)
Police say at least two gunmen took part in Sunday’s attack, which targeted a Jewish ‘Chanukah By The Sea’ event at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach. One of the alleged gunmen was killed in the attack, the other is in hospital. Police are investigating whether there may be a third shooter.
Police say they also found evidence of multiple improvised explosive devices in a vehicle near the scene of the attack.
“We have our bomb disposal rescue unit working there at the moment,” the New South Wales police commissioner said.
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Albanians condemned Sunday’s attack and attacks on Jewish Australians.
