Senior Israeli officials on Sunday accused Australia’s leadership of ignoring antisemitism ahead of the deadly mass shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, with some going so far as to claim that the blood of the victims was on the government’s hands because of its recent recognition of a Palestinian state.

At least 15 people were killed in the attack, during which two gunmen opened fire at a communal event marking the first night of the Hanukkah holiday. One victim was named as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary based in Sydney.

Among the wounded were Arsen Ostrovsky, a human rights lawyer and head of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council branch in Sydney, and Evan Zlatkis, director of media at the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. At least 13 are believed to have been critically injured in the attack, including two policemen.

Speaking hours after the attack at a Hanukkah celebration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that he had sent a letter in August to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, charging Canberra with pouring fuel “on this antisemitic fire.”

Paraphrasing his letter, Netanyahu said Albanese’s policies, which included recognizing a Palestinian state in September, encouraged “the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets. Antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent. You must replace weakness with action.”

In an oblique attack on the Australian government, Netanyahu added: “We will continue to denounce those who do not denounce, but instead encourage. We will continue to demand that they do what is needed of leaders of free nations. We will not give up, we will not bow our heads, we will continue to fight as our ancestors did.”

President Isaac Herzog condemned the “cruel” shooting, calling on Canberra to fight against “the enormous wave of antisemitism” that he said “is plaguing Australian society.”

“Our sisters and brothers in Sydney, Australia, have been attacked by vile terrorists in a very cruel attack on Jews who had gone to light the first candle of Hanukkah,” he said at an event at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

“We repeat our alerts time and again to the Australian government,” he added.

In an English-language tweet, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar declared that Australia had been warned about........

© The Times of Israel