Chikli urges Australia to confront radical Islam

Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister of Diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism, has written a sharply worded letter to Australian Cabinet Minister Tony Burke, warning that Canberra’s failure to explicitly name radical Islam as the ideological driver behind the recent Bondi Beach terrorist attack is undermining efforts to confront the threat.

Burke serves in several post simultaneously, including as minister for home affairs, minister for immigration, citizenship and multicultural affairs, and minister for cyber security.

In the Dec. 31 letter sent following his visit to Australia after the deadly attack on the first night of Chanukah, Chikli said the Jewish community expects decisive action from the Australian government and offered Israeli assistance in training security personnel.

“The Jewish community expects the Australian government to ensure its safety, just as it does for every Australian citizen,” Chikli wrote.

The Israeli minister traveled to Australia in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi Beach attack to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community. During his visit, he attended funerals of some of the 15 slain, visited some of the 39 wounded in hospitals and met with grieving families and community leaders. He also brought an Israeli delegation of trauma and resilience experts to provide professional support.

Chikli was hosted at a solidarity event at Chabad Bondi by the Australian Jewish Association, alongside former Australian Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison.

In his letter, Chikli stressed that rhetoric surrounding Israel and the Palestinians has real-world consequences.

“When crowds are permitted to chant slogans such as ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘globalise the intifada,’ the consequences should not be dismissed as abstract or rhetorical,” he wrote. “The attack at Bondi Beach was precisely that—a globalization of the intifada, with deadly devastating consequences.”

Chikli argued that while gun control measures are important, they do not address the root cause of the violence.

“Guns do not act independently—it is the perpetrators, driven by a dangerous and violent ideology, who must be directly confronted,” he wrote, identifying radical Islamist extremism as the core threat facing the Jewish community and Australian society at large.

Referring to Burke’s previous correspondence to him, Chikli said that broadly condemning extremism and antisemitism without naming radical Islam as the driving ideology behind the attack weakens the response. He added that the failure of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong to clearly identify the source of the violence “undermines the ability to confront it.”

“The first step in fighting terrorism and antisemitism is precise diagnosis —not merely focusing on the weapons used, but on the extremist ideology responsible for the violence,” Chikli wrote.

The minister emphasized Israel’s readiness to assist Australia, citing the Jewish state’s extensive experience in combating terrorism and antisemitism.

“Israel stands ready and willing to assist Australia at this critical juncture,” he said, offering to host and train senior police officers and security personnel in Israel and share best practices in counter-terrorism.

“I look forward to meaningful cooperation on this vital issue,” Chikli concluded.