Jewish Leader: ‘We Warned Them’ Following Deadly Bondi Beach Attack That Kills 15

In the wake of a devastating terror attack that claimed 15 lives at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Jewish community leaders are pointing to a pattern of ignored warnings that preceded the violence.

“We have been completely let down by our government,” said Dionne Taylor, communications manager of the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council, in an interview following Sunday’s massacre. “We warned them that this snowball effect was going to happen, and it was only a matter of time before someone got killed.”

Australian authorities have classified the shooting as an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community. Police identified the attackers as a father and adult son. The father died at the scene, while the son was critically wounded by police and hospitalized.

Taylor, who lives just minutes from Bondi Beach, described the tragedy as the culmination of escalating antisemitism that government officials repeatedly failed to address despite explicit warnings from community leaders.

“It started with hate speech,” she explained. “Then graffiti. Then public demonstrations. Then firebombing synagogues, preschools, people’s homes, people’s cars. And now murder.”

According to Taylor, Jewish representatives had formally alerted both state and federal officials to the growing threat, including through detailed reports compiled by Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism. Despite acknowledgment of these warnings, she said substantive action never materialized.

“We receive these one-line messages that there’s ‘no place for antisemitism in Australia,'” Taylor said. “But they’re empty promises. There’s been no action.”

The attack has shaken the normally peaceful coastal community of Bondi, one of Australia’s most iconic tourist destinations. Among the victims was a 10-year-old girl who later died from her wounds and a Holocaust survivor who had sought refuge in Australia decades ago.

“Australia is home to one of the largest Holocaust survivor communities,” Taylor noted. “They came here seeking peace and safety, a better life. And now one of them has fallen victim to terrorism here.”

The violence struck particularly close to Taylor’s organization. Arsen Ostrovsky, newly appointed head of AIJAC’s Sydney office, was among those shot at the festival and remains hospitalized.

“He moved back to Australia with his wife and children just two weeks ago,” Taylor said. “He survived reporting after October 7 in Israel, and now he’s become a victim of that same bloodshed here.”

The attack has prompted a national security response, with Australian leaders condemning the violence and pledging to review counterterrorism measures. Police presence has increased around synagogues and Jewish institutions nationwide, while many Hanukkah events have been canceled amid safety concerns.

Taylor attributes the attack to broader social and policy failures beyond antisemitism alone.

“There’s been a number of situations that have led to the complete erosion of social cohesion here in Australia, a relaxed immigration policy, letting in too many refugees from the wrong places, a rise of radical Islamism and a basically slick government that really hasn’t assisted or supported the Jewish community and other communities,” she said.

“This attack, while it was a targeted attack on the Jewish community, is actually a targeted attack across the whole of Australia.”

The tragedy has forced difficult conversations within Taylor’s own family about their future in Australia.

“After October 7, many people made plans to make aliyah to Israel,” she said, referring to Jewish immigration to Israel. “We discussed it as a family. We decided our life was better here. And now we’re asking ourselves, how is our life better here?”

Despite her criticisms of the government response, Taylor acknowledged the outpouring of support from non-Jewish Australians, with many lining up to donate blood and offering assistance to the Jewish community.

“I would hope that this is a big wake-up call for our current government,” Taylor said. “This is an attack on the whole of Australia. They’ve lost 15 of their citizens in one day and they’re powerless to stop it. If they can’t make changes and improvements to not only protect the Jewish community, but to protect the broader Australian community from terrorism, then they need to do that. And I believe they know they need to do it. I just don’t think they know how.”