Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday blamed Australia's policy on Palestinian statehood for contributing to antisemitism after the mass shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney. Gunmen opened fire at a Jewish gathering on Bondi Beach, killing at least 11 people in what Australian authorities called a targeted antisemitic attack. In a speech, Reuters reports, Netanyahu said he had warned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an August letter that his government's backing for Palestinian independence was stoking hostility toward Jews.
"Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire. It rewards Hamas terrorists," Netanyahu quoted from the letter. "It emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew hatred now stalking your streets." Albanese said on Aug. 11 that Australia would recognize a Palestinian state at the September UN General Assembly, which was in line with similar moves announced by France, Britain, and Canada. As Israel has pressed its attacks on Gaza, Netanyahu has sought to link calls for a Palestinian state , as well as criticism of the offensive, to growing incidents of antisemitism worldwide.
He accused Albanese's government of "doing nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia," adding, "You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today." Israeli President Isaac Herzog's office said Sunday that he had warned Britain's King Charles in September of an "epidemic of antisemitism" in the Commonwealth nations of Britain, Canada, and Australia, per the AP. The US, Iran, India, Germany, the United Nations, and World Jewish Congress expressed sympathy and condemned the killings on Sunday without blaming Australia.
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