This week’s terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach echoes the horrors of the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel. Two gunmen opened fire on families gathered for the ‘Chanukah by the Sea’ event, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more. By comparison, the October 7 Hamas-led assault on a music festival and nearby communities killed around 1,200 people. Given the much smaller Jewish population in Australia relative to Israel, the scale of both attacks is tragically comparable in its devastating impact on those communities.
Many had warned the Australian government that rising antisemitic incidents across the nation, coupled with networks of terror sympathisers, made a tragedy like this inevitable.
The unauthorised rally, which contained Hamas supporters, shortly after October 7, complete with chants of ‘Gas the Jews!’, served as a chilling precursor.
More than two years of inaction by local and federal Labor governments, weekly pro-Palestinian protests in the centres of Sydney and Melbourne that often glorified terrorists, and scattered attacks on Jewish individuals and sites have now culminated in this atrocity.
This is not merely another criticism of the government’s lack of moral clarity and decisive action. It is a stark warning to Woke, socialist, social-democratic, and even liberal politicians and their supporters:
If you fail to act swiftly and forcefully, you risk ending up in the same position as the innocent victims at Bondi Beach.
Islamist terror networks must be dismantled at all costs. There is no place for political correctness when confronting a force that claims lives and spreads terror worldwide.
Extremist groups like Islamic State often cloak themselves within religious minorities, recruiting social outcasts incrementally to build their ranks. Inaction, frequently driven by fear of offending the Muslim community, only allows the Islamist movement to grow.
History shows that when such ideologies take hold, they turn against the very progressives who enabled them.
If you doubt this, consider the Iranian socialists who aided the mullahs in overthrowing the legitimate government in 1979, only to be executed by the thousands in the early years of the Islamic Republic.
Those who once argued, ‘We’re too far from the Middle East to be affected,’ have been proven wrong by this attack.
Likewise, anyone who believes cracking down on Islamism is too offensive now faces a stark wake-up call. Australia’s peaceful lifestyle, fuelled by our geographical isolation and abundant resources that foster the relaxed living we cherish, is far too valuable to risk over concerns about offending others.
The Australian Muslim community must also take serious steps in response to this atrocity. To avoid becoming isolated or marginalised, they should actively distance themselves from ideologies of hatred through every available means. Islamic schools and mosques must unequivocally denounce radicalism and discourage those who promote it. Greater cooperation with security and intelligence agencies is essential to identify and neutralise potential threats before they emerge.
In the face of such threats, unity and vigilance are essential for preserving Australia’s cherished way of life.
By confronting radicalism head-on, through government resolve, community cooperation, and unwavering commitment to security, all Australians can work together to prevent future atrocities and ensure a safer, more inclusive society for generations to come.
