Bondi massacre revelations demand rethink on antisemitism education

The most crucial revelation to emerge about antisemitism over the past week was not in the Interim Report by the Royal Commission. It was a media report claiming that Sajid Akram was driven to carry out the Bondi Beach massacre by the war in Gaza.

“His motivation… was suspected to be his growing Islamic State-influenced anger about Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza,” security and police sources told Nine Media last week. “Sajid played a significant role influencing his son, Naveed, to carry out” the December attack that left 15 people dead and 40 others wounded, the report added.

The Interim report released today did not contain any discussion of the Akrams’ motivation or behaviour, and the Commission will not be doing so in future. "In light of the current criminal proceedings...The Royal Commission ought not, in its public hearings or publicly available report, make findings or comments about the intention and motivation of the shooters," Commissioner Bell said.

Instead, the bulk of the 14 recommendations in the Interim Report focussed on strengthening Australia’s counter-terrorism capability and formalising greater co-ordination between security bodies.

However, the conclusion about Sajid Akram’s motivation has more immediate implications for the public: it provides the gravest evidence of a direct link between the war in Gaza and antisemitism. While the motivation does not come as a surprise, nor was it a foregone conclusion. Other major recent acts of antisemitism in Australia have not been directly linked to Gaza. The firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Synagogue and Lewis’s Continental kitchen in Sydney were the work of the Iranian government, which paid Australian criminals to sow discord within the community.