The Israeli-American Council denounced Oprah Winfrey’s reaction to the recent antisemitic terror attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, stating that she did not identify Jews, Chanukah or antisemitism in her post.
“I just spent the last two weeks in Australia, walking Bondi just days ago, feeling the openness and ease that lives there,” Winfrey wrote on social media. “It’s hard to reconcile that sense of peace with the terror of last night. My heart breaks for the victims, their families and loved ones, and all you Aussies.”
Winfrey was on a speaking tour in Australia and New Zealand that ended on Dec. 13.
“Oprah’s neglect to name the actual targets and victims of the attack—Jews celebrating Hanukkah—conceals both the true nature of this horrific event and the appalling surge in antisemitism that gave rise to it,” said Elan Carr, CEO of the IAC and former U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism.
Her statement is “the sort of misguided obfuscation that allows antisemitism to flourish,” he said.
He invited Winfrey to meet with IAC leadership for “a dialogue about the scourge of antisemitism and the Jewish community’s concerns” since Oct. 7 and to discuss “how she can use her enormous influence to make a difference in this fight.”
