Just after Hamas murdered more than 1,000 people Oct. 7, 2023, Islamists gathered at the Sydney Opera House chanting, “Gas the Jews” and “Fuck the Jews,” while waving Palestinian flags just over two years before another attack against Australia’s Jewish community occurred Saturday evening.
Antisemitic attacks in Australia have reportedly been rising, with the worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years occurring Saturday. A video previously posted by the Australian Jewish Association on Oct. 9, 2023 shows a large group of people waving various Palestinian flags and chanting obscenities against Jews from the steps of Sydney’s Opera House.
WATCH:
UNCUT VERSION – SHOCKING
“Gas the Jews’ on the steps of the Sydney Opera House pic.twitter.com/kLv9QMex65
Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) October 9, 2023
Calls for police to respond to reports of two shooters attacking a Hanukkah celebration at a popular Sydney beach began around 6:45 p.m. local time Saturday, leaving at least 15 people dead and a handful of others injured.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed during a Sunday press conference the two shooters were a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son, according to the BBC. After officers arrived on scene, the father was killed by police, while the son was injured and remains hospitalized in critical condition, the outlet reported.
During a press conference Sunday morning, Lanyon confirmed the shooting was a targeted terrorist attack, with officials stating it was “designed to target” the Jewish community. The attack occurred at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, where over a thousand had gathered to celebrate the start of Hanukkah in an area known as Chanukah by the Sea.
While officials had not publicly identified all victims as of Sunday evening, two were confirmed to be a 10-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man who died at the hospital, according to NBC News. Another confirmed victim was Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, who had used his body to shield his wife, Larissa, as the gunmen opened fire on the crowd, according to The Australian.
“We were standing and suddenly came the ‘boom boom,’ and everybody fell down,” Larissa told the outlet. “At this moment he [Alex] was behind me and at one moment he decided to go close to me. He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me.”
“I have no husband. I don’t know … nobody can give me any answers,” Larissa added after leaving the hospital.
Lanyon also reportedly confirmed Sunday the 50-year-old shooter, who died at the scene, was a licensed firearms holder with six firearms linked to him. Officials believe the weapons were used in the attack, BBC reported. Lanyon added that two active improvised explosive devices were found near the scene and “rendered safe” by authorities.
Roughly 150,000 people who identify as Jewish live in Australia, which has a population of about 27 million; roughly one-third of the Jewish community resides in the Sydney area, according to Reuters. Israeli author Uriya Shavit, who oversees Tel Aviv University’s annual global antisemitism report, told PBS that Australian Jews are now questioning their safety in the country following the attack.
“This was really one of the safest communities for Jews in history, characterized by religious tolerance and coexistence, and now Australian Jews are seriously asking whether they have a future in the country,” Shavit told the outlet.
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