Two gunmen opened fire at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and injuring 42 others in what authorities declared a terrorist attack. The assault, targeting families gathered for the first night of Chanukah, has sparked global outrage and renewed warnings about the dangerous link between hate speech and violent extremism.
Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, armed themselves with six firearms and attacked the "Chanukah by the Sea" event shortly after 6:47 pm local time. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while Naveed Akram was critically wounded after a heroic bystander tackled him and wrestled away his weapon. He remains hospitalized under police guard and is expected to face criminal charges.
The victims ranged from 10 to 87 years old. Among the dead: Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, a British-born father of five who served as assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi, and 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim. Holocaust survivor Alexander Kleytman, 87, also perished in the attack alongside his wife Larisa, who survived by hiding.
Warning: Hate speech fuels violence
UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, speaking to the Press Association in London, issued stark warnings about hate speech proliferating on British streets. He directly connected slogans like "globalise the intifada" chanted at protests to violent attacks like Sunday's massacre.
"We have seen on a weekly basis, people out in the streets of cities in our country crying slogans which incite hatred – 'from the river to the sea', 'globalise the intifada'," Sir Ephraim said. "What does 'globalise the intifada' mean? Well, on Yom Kippur at the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, we discovered what it means. On Bondi Beach, Australians discovered what is meant by those words."
The Chief Rabbi called for urgent action: "The time has come for us to make it absolutely clear that such speech is unlawful. It's not going to be accepted. It's gone on for far too long. So much of hate speech has the potential to become translated into hate action."
Sir Ephraim will travel to Sydney on Tuesday to meet the Jewish community. His cousin and cousin's wife survived the attack by hiding under a doughnut stand for 15 terrifying minutes.
Muslim hero disarmed attacker
Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian fruit shop owner, became an unlikely hero when he charged at one of the gunmen and wrested the weapon from his hands. He sustained bullet wounds to his arm and hand but survived emergency surgery. His father Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed told ABC Australia: "My son is a hero, he served with the police and in the central security forces, and he has the impulse to protect people."
A public fundraising campaign has raised over 1.1 million Australian dollars for Ahmed, with American billionaire Bill Ackman donating 99,999 dollars as the top contribution.
UK responds with increased security
The UK government announced a "more visible security presence" at Hanukkah events this week following the Sydney attack. Prime Minister's official spokesman stated the government will not tolerate inciting hatred and expects police to use their existing powers "more robustly" against hate speech at demonstrations.
Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones told Sky News that chants designed to intimidate or call for violence against Jews are "totally unacceptable," adding: "What they do not have is a right to intimidate British citizens or call for violence in our streets, because sadly, we have seen the consequences of what happens when that is done."
Metropolitan Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, and Police Scotland have all increased patrols around synagogues and Jewish community venues.
Attackers' background under scrutiny
Counter-terrorism investigators believe the gunmen pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Two IS flags were found in their car alongside improvised explosive devices. Naveed Akram had been investigated by Australia's domestic intelligence agency ASIO in 2019 for suspected ties to a Sydney-based IS cell but was assessed as posing no ongoing threat.
Both father and son had recently returned from the Philippines, specifically visiting Mindanao, an island described by officials as an extremism hotspot with "training camps and the like" that has become "a well trodden path for Islamic State through South East Asia" since 2019.
Sajid Akram arrived in Australia on a student visa in 1998 and held a legal license for the six firearms used in the attack. He was a member of a gun club.
Australia vows gun law reforms
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack as "an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism" and convened an emergency national cabinet meeting. All states and territories agreed to strengthen gun laws, including limiting the number of firearms individuals can license, reviewing licenses over time, and restricting gun importation.
"People's circumstances change. People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity," Albanese said at a press conference.
The Bondi Beach attack marks Australia's deadliest mass shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which killed 35 people and led to sweeping gun control reforms.
Jewish communities express fear
The attack has intensified fears among Jewish communities globally. Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust in the UK, told BBC Radio Scotland that Jewish people in Scotland are questioning whether they have a future there.
"Everyone is talking about whether they have a future in Scotland and that is not because there has been a terrorist attack, it's because of the general mood that people perceive and the isolation they feel," Gardner said.
The Jewish Council of Scotland released a statement declaring: "There must be no place for anti-Jewish hate – in any guise – anywhere in Scotland. We will not be deterred by antisemitism or acts of terror, and we will celebrate Chanukah throughout Scotland."
Despite the tragedy, Hanukkah celebrations proceeded over the weekend in Scotland with heightened security measures in place.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
