Prime Minister Albanese called it an “opportunity for every Australian to stand with the Jewish community and remember the 15 lives stolen in this deadly attack.”
The Labor Party leader, who has faced criticism for not doing enough to address rising antisemitism in the lead-up to the Islamic State-inspired shooting by two gunmen at the holiday event, called the day a “solemn opportunity for every Australian to stand with the Jewish community and remember the 15 lives stolen in this deadly attack.”
Albanese announced on Jan. 8 that Australia would establish a royal commission to investigate the Bondi Beach massacre. He said that the government would fully support and adopt all 13 recommendations that Jillian Segal, Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, outlined in her July “Plan to Combat Antisemitism.”
Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy on antisemitism, has said Washington is closely watching Australia’s royal commission amid concern over Albanese’s past pro‑Palestinian activism and his government’s handling of antisemitism.
In a sharply worded letter dated Aug. 17, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu castigated Albanese for his government’s failure to counter Australia’s surging antisemitism.