History will not forgive Western governments that show “hesitation and weakness” in the fight against the “cancer” of antisemitism, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, speaking after the terrorist shooting that claimed 15 lives at a Chanukah celebration in Sydney, Australia.
Addressing the press at a government meeting in the southern city of Dimona, Netanyahu noted that, in an official letter sent four months ago, he had warned his Australian counterpart, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, that his policies were “promoting and encouraging antisemitism.”
Antisemitism is a cancer. pic.twitter.com/oz44ixjpAP
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) December 14, 2025
“I wrote: ‘Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire. It rewards Hamas terrorists. It emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets,’” Netanyahu said of the Aug. 17 missive to Canberra.
“Antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent; it retreats when leaders act. I call upon you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve,” the premier’s remarks continued.
Netanyahu said Albanese “took no action” and “let the disease spread.” He claimed, “The result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today.”
The Jewish state expects “action and strength” from “each of your governments in the West and elsewhere,” Netanyahu continued.
“The disease spreads—and it will consume you, as well,” he cautioned. “We are worrying right now about our people, our safety, and we do not remain silent. We fight those who try to annihilate us.”
Sunday’s attack, which Albanese called an antisemitic terrorist assault, was Australia’s deadliest shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
At least 15 people were killed and 42 wounded in the shooting attack on the Chanukah celebration on Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach.
The slain victims were between the ages of 10 and 87, according to the Australian public broadcaster ABC, which cited Chris Minns, the premier of the New South Wales region that includes Sydney.
The shooters are believed to be a father and son, per ABC, which said that alleged terrorist Naveed Akram, 24, is under police guard in the hospital, and police shot and eliminated his father, 50, on Sunday.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in a message to the Australian Jewish community on Sunday night, expressed his “deepest condolences.”
“These vile terrorists deliberately targeted innocent Jewish families celebrating the first night of Chanukah. They wanted to light a big light,” he said in a video message, adding: “The people of Israel stand together with all of you in this very dark and difficult moment.
“Even in the face of terror and tragedy, let’s not forget: We are the eternal people. The Jewish people are strong, resilient and united, and our message is clear: The Chanukah lights must go on and will be lit all over the world, especially in Bondi Beach in Sydney and all over Australia.
“In Australia, in Israel and around the world, the Jewish people—the eternal people—will continue to bring light into the world and overcome this terrible darkness,” added Herzog’s statement.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tweeted that the eight-day Jewish festival this year “opened with joy mixed with sorrow” due to the attack.
“Antisemitism has not had such a rejuvenation since the years of the Holocaust. After 80 years, it is back in fashion. It’s a shocking fact, but still a fact, that even in 2025, Jews are being hunted around the world.”
Sa’ar said he told his Australian counterpart, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, that anti-Jewish incitement, including the “Globalize the Intifada” chant, “must be banned” following the antisemitic shooting.
“Western governments face a simple choice: fight antisemitism or normalize it. The Australian government has failed this test,” he wrote.
“Israel, the state of the Jewish people, will fight antisemitism with determination,” Sa’ar promised. “We will call things by their name. We will not allow the normalization of hatred and persecution of Jews.”
The attack followed an escalating stream of incidents that surged after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault in Israel and it profoundly shocked the Jewish community of Australia, where many Holocaust refugees and survivors had settled, thinking it would be a safe haven.
News of the terror attack caused Jewish communal life to grind to a halt nationwide, a lawyer who spoke to JNS anonymously said on Sunday.
