The terrorist attack on Jewish Australians celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025, has produced an outpouring of grief, prayer and support for our fellow Australians in the Jewish community.
 
This act of evil is an extraordinary event in our history, which has ongoing impacts for all Australians, and therefore deserves the most thorough investigation and response.  
 
Since the attack, the solidarity of communities of faith with the Australian Jewish community has demonstrated our unanimity that all Australians, whatever their faith or cultural background, are entitled to live free from the threat of violence. Our own Christian response is informed by the biblical commands to ‘live peaceably with all, as far as it depends on you’ and to ‘overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:18, 21).  
 
I commend the State and Federal governments for their actions so far, including the announcement of the Richardson Review into the performance of Australia’s federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies. It will be important to identify any gaps or obstacles to the effective discharge of their duties that may exist. 
 
However, we must go further. I urge our national government to acknowledge the voice of those directly impacted – the families of the victims and the survivors of the attack – and to heed their calls for a national inquiry. 
  
The attack at Bondi represents the culmination of a period of rising antisemitism across the nation, including the firebombing of places of worship, education and commerce, as well graffiti attacks, and destruction of property including in residential areas. 
 
Antisemitism, with its long, tragic and unique history is a threat to all Australians because it suggests that one part of the community is less entitled to the safety and respect that should be enjoyed by all and protected by all. 
 
A national inquiry is an appropriate and essential part of a comprehensive response and recognises the singular and ignominious place that this horrific event now holds in our national life. The lives of 15 innocent Australians demand nothing less. 
 
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
7 January 2026