The Bondi Beach attack on the Jewish people orchestrated by Australian visa holders resulted in 16 deaths. However, Australia still hasn’t learned the lesson and continues to pursue a flawed foreign policy.
Introduction
On December 14, 2025, two assailants who were greatly inspired by the Islamic State orchestrated an attack on the Jewish people while they were celebrating the first day of Hanukkah. The attack resulted in the deaths of 16 people and injured more than 40 people.
Australian Denial of Active Terrorist Organizations
Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, said that there was no sign of any terrorist organization behind the heinous attack. However, his deliberately crafted statement is far from reality. Since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, the Australian politicians and statesmen have failed to condemn the disproportionate carnage executed by the Israelis in Gaza and Palestine. This Australian complicity in the Palestinian genocide has provided an opportunity for the Islamic State and other terrorist groups to encourage their fighters all around the globe to wage Jihad and seek revenge against the Jewish people.
Anthony Albanese argued that “People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity.” He also said that “People’s circumstances can change.” His statements reveal that a considerable number of Australian people are either radicalised or indoctrinated by some extremist ideology that encourages them to wage violence against some community or a group of people.
Tim Quinn, the President of Gun Control in Australia, said that “It is essential that we ask careful, evidence-based questions about how this attack occurred, including how any weapons were obtained and whether our current laws and enforcement mechanisms are keeping pace with changing risks and technologies.” It is important to know how the weapons were available for terrorists to use against innocent people.
Violence in Australia
It is quite worrisome that gun violence and terrorism is increasing in Australia. In August 2025, Dezi Freeman, a conspiracy theorist, killed two police officers in Australia’s Victoria region using stolen guns from police. Previously, on April 13, 2024, Joel Cauchi killed six people using a knife and injured over a dozen in Bondi, New South Wales. Australia’s most deadly shooting took place in April 1996, when Martin Bryant shot and killed 35 people and injured more than two dozen.
Analysis and Conclusions
Australia has become a dangerous place for the innocent people. The British newspaper The Guardian reported in September 2025, that “In Australia, racist violence is nothing new” and noted that such violence has “emboldened neo-Nazis.” We may witness a hike in terrorism in Australia in the years to come as the policies of the Australian government have strengthened the roots of the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations to wage attacks against the innocent people, racism, and spread hatred.
However, besides Australia’s continued denial of active terrorist organizations on the Australian territory, it is a big question mark on the security as well as intelligence services of Australia, which have miserably failed to identify potential militants, terrorists, and Islamic State sympathisers having links to terrorist organizations. It is noteworthy that Nikkei Asia reported that in August 2024, while citing the terrorist threat, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) lifted the terrorist threat level from “possible” to “probable.” It makes it clear that the Australian government and intelligence were certain of a terrorist attack; however, it remained ignorant.
The Australian government has completely failed, and resultantly the Australian people feel insecure, since the number of gun licenses has momentously grown over the past couple of years. For instance, in the State of New South Wales, where the Bondi Beach terrorist incident took place, there were “180,663 licences in 2001, rising to just fewer than 260,000 in 2025.” There are two possible directions in this regard. Either the security and police have completely failed in Australia. Or, the gun laws in Australia have become so weak that now everybody wants to own a weapon for protection or other purposes.
Simon Westwood is a Masters student at the Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland. He is also a Research Assistant at the DCU’s Department of History
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