Anti-Semitism allowed to fester in Australia: Daughter of Holocaust survivor wounded in Bondi shootings
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Members of the Jewish community sitting near a floral tribute at Bondi Beach to honour the victims of a mass shooting targeting a Hanukkah celebration on Dec 14.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SYDNEY – Government authorities have not done enough to stamp out hatred of Jews in Australia, which has allowed it to fester in the aftermath of Oct 7, 2023, said the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who was wounded at the Bondi shootings on Dec 14.
Ms Victoria Teplitsky, 53, a retired childcare centre owner, said that the father and son who allegedly went on a 10-minute shooting spree
“It’s not the fact that those two people had a gun. It’s the fact that hatred has been allowed to fester against the Jewish minority in Australia,” she told Reuters in an interview.
“We are angry at our government because it comes from the top, and they should have stood up for our community with strength. And they should have squashed the hatred rather than kind of letting it slide,” she said.
“We’ve been ignored. We feel like, are we not Australian enough? Do we not matter to our government?”
The attackers fired upon hundreds of people at a Jewish festival during a roughly 10-minute killing spree, forcing people to flee and take shelter before both were shot by police.
Rising anti-Semitic attacks
Anti-Semitic incidents have been rising in Australia since the war in Gaza erupted after Palestinian militant group Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in an attack on Oct 7, 2023. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has since killed more than 70,000 people, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
A rise in such incidents in the past sixteen months prompted the head of the nation’s main intelligence agency to declare that anti-Semitism was his top priority in terms of threat.
“This was not a surprise to the Jewish community. We warned the government of this many, many times over,” Ms Teplitsky said.
“We’ve had synagogues that have been graffitied, graffiti everywhere, and we’ve had synagogues that have been bombed,” she added, referring to a 2024 arson attack in Melbourne
Ms Teplitsky’s father, Mr Semyon, 86, bled heavily after being shot in the leg, and now is facing several operations as doctors piece bone back together with cement, then remove the cement from the leg, which he still may lose, she said.
“He’s in good spirits, but he’s also very angry. Angry that this happened, that this was allowed to happen in Australia, the country that he took his children to, to be safe, to be away from anti-Semitism, to be away from Jew hatred.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Dec 15 that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “did nothing” to curb anti-Semitism
Mr Albanese repeated on Dec 16 Australia’s support for a two-state solution. Pro-Palestinian protests have been common in Australia since Israel launched its offensive.
At a press briefing on Dec 15, Mr Albanese read through a list of actions his government had taken, including criminalising hate speech and incitement to violence and a ban on the Nazi salute. He also pledged to extend funding for physical security for Jewish community groups. REUTERS
