Australian state to ban ‘Globalize the intifada’ chant in wake of Bondi terror attack

Amid hate speech crackdown, PM Albanese praises ‘unbreakable’ Jewish community ahead of national memorial for 15 slain in antisemitic massacre; lifeguards gather to honor victims

The Australian state of New South Wales is planning to ban “Globalize the intifada” chants, according to a Saturday BBC report, amid a crackdown on “hateful” rhetoric and slogans in the wake of Sunday’s devastating terror attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah event.

New South Wales is home to Sydney and its iconic Bondi Beach, where 15 people were killed and dozens wounded by two gunmen who opened fire on a crowd celebrating the Jewish holiday.

The elder gunman, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was shot and killed by police. His 24-year-old son, Naveed, survived and remains in the hospital under police guard, facing charges including terrorism and 15 murders.

The mass shooting was Australia’s worst in nearly 30 years and is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting Jews. Authorities have ramped up patrols and policing across the country to prevent further antisemitic violence.

Since the attack, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has said he plans to convene the state’s parliament and pass stricter hate speech and incitement laws.

According to the BBC, Minns is looking to classify the “Globalize the intifada” chant, popular among anti-Israel activists, as illegal hate speech, and aims to encourage a “summer of calm,” without mass anti-Israel demonstrations.

Critics point in particular to a now-infamous protest in Sydney held a few days after October 7, 2023, where video footage appeared to show demonstrators celebrating the attack and chanting “gas the Jews” and “f— the Jews,” rhetoric they say foreshadowed later acts of violence.

However, New South Wales police later claimed there was no evidence of the chant. The pro-Palestinian rally, which gathered over 1,000 people, also included the burning of an Israeli flag and the firing of several flares.

Many in Australia’s Jewish community say the government, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in particular, “abandoned” them, arguing that clear warning signs were ignored in the lead-up to the Bondi massacre.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, sparking the Gaza war and setting off a tidal wave of antisemitism across the globe, Australia’s 120,000-strong Jewish community has been among the hardest hit, with successive marches and protests, synagogues, schools and homes firebombed, two nurses threatening to kill Jewish patients at their hospital, and the discovery of a trailer filled with explosives said to have been intended to cause a mass-casualty event at a Sydney synagogue.

Under pressure from critics who say his center-left government has not done enough to curb a surge in antisemitism, the prime minister has vowed to strengthen hate laws in the wake of the massacre.

“We can’t be in a position where we see a repeat of Sunday. We need to do everything within our power to make that change,” Minns told reporters.

A joint counter-terrorism team, including police and intelligence services, is pursuing a broad investigation into the alleged gunmen’s contacts and movements before the shooting.

Authorities believe the pair drew inspiration from the Islamic State group. Australian police are investigating whether they met with Islamist extremists during a visit to the Philippines weeks before the shooting.

Detectives carried out raids with search warrants in Australia as recently as Friday, police said, without revealing the locations.

“We are leaving no stone unturned in Australia and overseas,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett told a news conference Saturday.

“We will identify the methods, capability and connections of these alleged offenders to determine who the alleged offenders communicated with leading up to the attack,” she said.

An ‘unbreakable’ community

Albanese said Saturday that the country’s Jewish community was “completely unbreakable” after attending a memorial event at a Sydney synagogue for the victims of a terror attack on a seaside celebration of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

Albanese said the event he attended at the Great Synagogue in Sydney on Friday night showed “the spirit of our Jewish Australian community is completely unbreakable.”

“It was a night of unity, resilience, comfort, faith and love,” Albanese said in remarks televised from Canberra, ahead of a national day of reflection on Sunday with the theme “light over darkness” marking a week after the attack started with a minute’s silence at 6:47 p.m. (0747 GMT).

Flags will fly at half-mast, and Australians are being asked to light a candle in their windows to honor the victims and stand by the Jewish community, Albanese said.

“Sixty seconds carved out from the noise of daily life, dedicated to 15 Australians who should be with us today,” he told reporters Saturday. “It will be a moment of pause to reflect and affirm that hatred and violence will never define us as Australians.”

Federal and state authorities are talking with Jewish community leaders about establishing a permanent memorial at Bondi Beach, as well as holding a national day of mourning in the new year, Albanese said.

Lifeguards fall silent for victims

Australian surf lifesavers lined the shore of Bondi Beach Saturday and fell silent to honor the 15 people shot and killed.

Scores of rescuers stood by the water’s edge along the entire length of the beach.

Facing the ocean while wearing their red-and-yellow uniforms, the lifeguards observed three minutes of silence.

Some cried or hugged each other at the morning ceremony, with a surf lifesaving helicopter hovering overhead, television images showed.

Volunteer surf lifesavers across the country, who number more than 200,000, were asked to join the homage in solidarity with those affected by the Bondi attack before starting their morning patrols.

Ocean rescuers wanted to recognize the “tragedy that has unfolded at Bondi while also reflecting on our respect and compassion for the Jewish community targeted by this attack,” Bondi’s two lifesaving clubs said in a message.

“We pay respects to those who lost their lives, those who risked their lives, those who worked so hard to save lives, and all of us who will never forget.”

Lifeguards at Bondi have been widely praised for their courage on the day of the December 14 attack, dragging people to safety, bandaging and resuscitating victims, and pulling panicked swimmers from the waves.

A photo shared widely online showed lifeguard Jackson Doolan running barefoot down the road from a neighboring beach towards the Bondi shooting, carrying a defibrillator to help victims.

The local mayor described his actions as “remarkable.”