“The writing was on the wall; the Australian government bears responsibility” – Israeli government and opposition leaders blast Australia’s prime minister, accusing Canberra of ignoring warnings on antisemitism.
By World Israel News Staff
Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, government ministers and opposition figures, united in criticism of the Australian government following a deadly terrorist shooting targeting a Chanukah celebration in Sydney.
Netanyahu took aim directly at Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday, slamming Canberra’s decision to recognize unilateral Palestinian statehood and accusing Albanese’s government of ignoring Israel’s warnings regarding antisemitism.
“Antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent. You must replace weakness with action,” Netanyahu said, according to a report by The Times of Israel, echoing his own letter to Albanese earlier this year.
“We will continue to denounce those who do not denounce, but encourage,” Netanyahu continued. “We will continue to demand from them to do what is demanded 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 Herzog said that Israel has repeated its “alerts time and again to the Australian government to seek action and fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society.”
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is preparing to challenge Netanyahu for the premiership in next year’s election, explicitly blamed Canberra for the attack, saying it had ignored “the writing on the wall.”
“The writing was on the wall. The Australian government bears responsibility,” Bennett said Sunday morning. “This is a moment of grief, and time for accountability.”
“I have just spoken with several Jewish community leaders in Sydney. They are fearful and outraged.
For months they warned of rising antisemitism. The writing was on the wall. It was ignored. This violence did not come out of nowhere. When antisemitic hatred is tolerated and threats are downplayed, attacks become inevitable.”
“I demand that the Australian government take immediate, decisive action to protect Jewish communities and confront antisemitism as the serious threat it is.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar (New Hope) linked Sunday’s deadly attack to the spread of radical, pro-Hamas anti-Israel sentiment around the world after October 7, and to the failure of the Australian government to confront antisemitism.
“I’m appalled by the murderous shooting attack at a Chanukah event in Sydney, Australia,” Sa’ar wrote on X.
“These are the results of the anti-Semitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the anti-Semitic and inciting calls of ‘Globalise the Intifada’ that were realized today. The Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses!”
MK Merav Michaeli, a member of the left-wing The Democrats party, also took aim at pro-Hamas calls to spread anti-Israel violence around the globe.
“How’s that for globalizing the Intifada?”
Prime Minister Albanese’s office issued a statement condemning Sunday’s massacre, calling it “shocking and distressing.”
Later, Albanese addressed reporters on the attack, which he described as an “act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation.”
Israeli leaders blame Albanese government for Sydney massacre appeared first on World Israel News.