Australia to form royal commission into antisemitism after Bondi mass shooting |
SYDNEY — Australia will form a royal commission to investigate the mass terror shooting that killed 15 people at Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, as he faced public demands for answers.
The commission will investigate the nature, prevalence, and drivers of antisemitism in general, as well as the circumstances of the Bondi mass shooting, Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Thursday. It will also make recommendations regarding law enforcement, strengthening social cohesion and countering the spread of extremism.
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed targeted Jews attending the Hanukkah event in an ISIS-inspired attack on December 14, the nation’s worst mass shooting in 30 years and the worst antisemitic attack outside Israel in decades. Sajid was killed by police during the attack, while Naveed was shot but survived.
A royal commission, which is the most powerful form of government-commissioned inquiry that can be held in Australia, has the power to summon witnesses and request documents as evidence. It will be led by former High Court judge Virginia Bell, Albanese said.
A report is due by December 14, which will be a year to the day since the shooting.
“This was an antisemitic terrorist attack, aimed at Jewish Australians, inspired by ISIS, the deadliest that has ever occurred on Australian soil,” said Albanese. The surviving suspect, Naveed Akram, 24, faces dozens of criminal charges, including murder and terrorism. He has yet to enter a plea.
The announcement followed weeks of growing calls from lawmakers across the political spectrum, some Jewish leaders and other public figures such as prominent sportspeople, for a national royal commission to be convened, instead of merely a statewide inquiry........