Jewish security group warned Australian police of terror risk to Bondi Chanukah event
Australian media report that the Community Security Group of New South Wales specifically warned the police about 'lone-actor attacks inspired by global jihadist propaganda'
A Jewish security group in Australia reportedly warned the country’s authorities last month about the increased threat of Islamist extremism towards the Jewish community, specifically citing the forthcoming Chanukah event at Bondi beach as high risk.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Community Security Group NSW (CSG NSW) produced a document in late November titled “Jewish Festival Calendar Notification”, which specifically discussed Chanukah, warning that the increased visibility of Jews celebrating in public meant a raised risk level for violent extremism. The New South Wales police have neither confirmed nor denied receiving the document, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.
The document, as quoted by ABC, warned that “Hostile actors have historically targeted Jewish and Israeli interests in retaliation for developments in the ongoing Middle East conflict and to intimidate local entities perceived as affiliated with Israel.” The document specifically referenced the most recent annual report produced by ASIO (the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the country’s national security agency), highlighting the risk of “lone-actor attacks inspired by global jihadist propaganda”, and saying that “while Islamic State and al-Qaeda have lost territorial control, their ideology persists and resonates with individuals online.”
The perpetrators of the Bondi beach Chanukah terror attack, Sajid and Naveed Akram, are reported to have placed an ISIS flag on the windscreen of their vehicle before carrying out the attack in which they murdered 15 and injured dozens more.
A spokesperson for Australia’s Police Minister, Yasmin Catley told Australian media that the politician was unaware of the CSG document or any warning which the CSG had given to NSW police.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism released data which it said showed an unprecedented spike in antisemitism on Australian social media in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi terror attack. As reported by Israeli media, before the attack the number of antisemitic comments on social media in the country averaged between 2,700 and 3,300 posts per day. However, on December 14, the day of the terror attack, the number rose to 17,100, with the following day’s figure at 21,500. Though the figures subsequently receded, they were still far higher than the pre-Bondi terror attack levels.
The Australian government has since announced that it will extend a formal invitation to the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, to visit the country, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying that the visit would allow Herzog to “honour and remember victims of the Bondi antisemitic terrorist attack and provide support for Jewish Australians and the Australian Jewish community at this time”.
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