The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, issued an apology to the Jewish community a day after being booed while speaking at a vigil for the victims of the Bondi Beach massacre on Sunday.
Breaking: Australian PM Anthony Albanese was booed by the overwhelming majority of the crowd at the Bondi memorial event for victims of the tragic terrorist attack. pic.twitter.com/kbTyo1ZBWg
— Rukshan Fernando (@therealrukshan) December 21, 2025
Following the vigil, Albanese posted on X:
Tonight we stood together as Australians. To reject antisemitism. To remember the precious lives we lost one week ago. And to wrap our arms around the Jewish community who are grieving. This has been a dark week for Australia, but we will never let hate divide us.
Tonight we stood together as Australians.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 21, 2025
To reject antisemitism.
To remember the precious lives we lost one week ago.
And to wrap our arms around the Jewish community who are grieving.
This has been a dark week for Australia, but we will never let hate divide us. pic.twitter.com/Tkwvr6vpBe
“Emotions were raw, and a lot of people in the community are hurting and angry, and some of that anger was directed towards me, and I understand that,” Albanese said on Monday. “As prime minister, I feel the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened while I’m prime minister. And I’m sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced."
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Following last week's announcement that the government would ban firearms as a solution ot the terror attack, the Prime Minister also announced on Monday that stricter laws would be made around hate speech.
We'll do what it takes to stamp out antisemitism in this country, with new laws and stronger penalties against hate speech. pic.twitter.com/m7jkVnGTp3
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 22, 2025
Albanese has faced widespread criticism for failing to curb the nation's growing problem with antisemitism since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out following October 7, 2023.
The Prime Minister recently announced that the government will review Australia's law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and whether they have the “right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe.”
Jewish leaders within the country, however, have called for there to be a royal commission (the country's most powerful form of review) to investigate the ISIS-inspired terror attack.
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