Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised on Thursday to introduce measures aimed at ending the “evil scourge” of anti-Semitism in his country.
The pledge comes after Sunday’s deadly shooting at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach.
15 people were killed in the attack on celebrations of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, with a father-son gunman also shot dead.
Albanese’s comments come as his government faces fresh accusations of doing too little to tackle anti-Semitism over the years.
Australia has seen a significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents since the October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip.
What measures did Albanese propose?
Speaking to reporters, Albanese said: “Australians are shocked and angry. I’m angry. It’s clear we need to do more to deal with this wicked crisis.”
He acknowledged that “more could always be done” to prevent such attacks.
Albanese announced a package of legislative reforms to “crack down on those who spread hatred, division and radicalism.”
Among the measures he mentioned were:
- Introduction of new powers to target extremist propagandists
- Denying or revoking visas for people who engage in hate speech
- Making ‘serious slander’ based on race a federal crime.
- Development of a system to list organizations whose leaders engage in hate speech
In the wake of the attack, Australian leaders have already agreed to tighten gun laws, allowing one of the two attackers to own six guns.
Although the country drastically reformed its gun laws after a deadly shooting in the state of Tasmania in 1996, the number of privately owned firearms has increased steadily since then.
Over AU$2 million raised for Bondi Beach Hero
Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign for a bystander named Ahmed al-Ahmad, who fought off one of the gunmen and wrested his weapon from him, has raised more than AUD 2.3 million ($1.5 million/€1.3 million) in donations.
Syrian-born Al-Ahmad was hospitalized with multiple injuries that required surgery following his courageous actions, which were captured in a video that has been viewed millions of times around the world.
He is expected to face a long road to recovery from his injuries, believed to have been suffered when the second gunman fired at him.
As legal residents of Australia, they will not have to pay large medical bills under the country’s universal health care system.
Edited by: Farah Bhagat