A stark reminder we are not insulated from terror and the gun problem was not solved |
The attack at Bondi during a Hanukkah celebration carries a disturbing sense of historical repetition.
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Back in 1982, while working in defence intelligence, I visited the site of the bombing of the Jewish Hakoah Club, also in Bondi, an attack identified as an act of terrorism carried out by the Palestinian 15 May organisation. Fortunately there were no casualties.
Why has Bondi been a target?
Bondi and the surrounding eastern suburbs have the largest concentrated Jewish population in Australia.
While Jewish Australians account for less than half a per cent of the national population, a significant proportion, some 45,000, live in this part of Sydney.
This concentration has fostered a strong sense of Jewish identity and social cohesion, but also makes the area attractive for those seeking symbolic targets against Israel.
Hanukkah is a Jewish religious festival marked openly and communally in Sydney, often in public spaces.
A well-publicised celebration held in a public park near Bondi Beach was therefore an easy and foreseeable terrorist target. The openness that symbolises religious freedom in Australia also creates vulnerability.
In 1982 the terrorism was carried out to gain recognition for a Palestinian state. In 2025 the attack is more likely to be linked to the 67,000 deaths in Gaza and the Jewish settler attacks on West Bank Palestinians that are being carried out with the tacit support of the Israel Defense Forces.
There has been frustration in the Muslim population in Australia over........