Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed by an angry crowd gathered at the famous Bondi beach on Sunday (December 21, 2025) to honour the victims of a gun attack a week earlier that targeted a seaside Jewish Hanukkah festival event.
The nation marked a day of reflection on Sunday (December 21, 2025) to honour the 15 people killed and the dozens wounded in the attack by two gunmen. With security tight and flags at half-staff on government buildings, a minute of silence was held at 6:47 p.m. (7:47 GMT), the time the attack began.
Television and radio networks paused for a minute’s silence.
Tens of thousands, including Mr. Albanese and other leaders, attended the memorial that was guarded by a heavy police presence, including snipers on rooftops and police boats in the waters.
Mr. Albanese was booed by the crowd on arrival, and later when the speaker mentioned his name during the memorial. He sat on the front row wearing a kippah, the traditional Jewish cap.
Mr. Albanese, under pressure from critics who say his centre-left government has not done enough to curb a surge in anti-Semitism since the start of the genocide in Gaza, was not scheduled to speak at the event.
The government has said it has consistently denounced anti-Semitism over the last two years and passed legislation to criminalise hate speech. It expelled the Iranian Ambassador earlier this year after accusing Tehran of directing two anti-Semitic arson attacks.
“We have lost our innocence….last week took our innocence,” David Ossip, the president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies said in a speech to start the proceedings at Bondi.
“Like the grass here at Bondi was stained with blood, so, too, has our nation been stained. We have landed up in a dark place. But friends, Hanukkah teaches us that light can illuminate even the bleakest of places. A single act of courage, a single flame of hope, can give us direction and point the path forward.”
Also present at the memorial was the father of Ahmed al Ahmed, hailed as the ‘Bondi Hero’ for wrestling a gun from one of the attackers.
Authorities invited Australians to light a candle at home on Sunday (December 21, 2025) night, the start of the eighth and final day of the Jewish festival of lights.
‘Reclaiming Bondi’
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who was cheered and praised at the memorial, said the attack was an attempt to marginalise, scatter, intimidate and cause fear.
“You have reclaimed Bondi Beach for us,” he said.
Mr. Albanese announced a review of the country’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies earlier on Sunday (December 21, 2025). He said the review, to be led by a former chief of Australia’s spy agency, would probe whether federal police and intelligence agencies have the “right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe”.
The attack exposed gaps in gun-license assessments and information-sharing between agencies that policymakers have said they want to plug. Mr. Albanese has announced a nationwide gun buyback, while gun safety experts say the nation’s gun laws, among the world’s toughest, are riddled with loopholes.
Authorities are investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism targeting Jews. Patrols and policing across the country have been ramped up to prevent further anti-Semitic violence. Authorities believe the gunmen were inspired by militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.
“The ISIS-inspired atrocity last Sunday reinforces the rapidly changing security environment in our nation. Our security agencies must be in the best position to respond,” Mr. Albanese said in a statement, adding that the review would conclude by the end of April.
The Bondi Beach attack was the most serious of a string of anti-Semitic incidents in Australia, which have included attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars, since Israel launched the war in October 2023, in response to an attack by Hamas.
Mr. Albanese condemned anti-immigration rallies being held in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday (December 21, 2025). Only about 200 people were at the Sydney rally.
Published – December 21, 2025 06:38 pm IST
