In a strong rebuke, Israeli Knesset Member Pnina Tamano-Shata has joined the chorus of voices criticizing the Australian government for what she describes as a failure to address mounting antisemitism in the country. Her comments come in the wake of a tragic terrorist attack over the weekend.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Tamano-Shata expressed her dismay at Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his administration, accusing them of turning a blind eye to the rising tide of antisemitic and anti-Israeli sentiments. She emphasized that officials had been aware of this disturbing trend for months yet chose inaction.
“When governments worldwide, particularly in Australia, fail to intervene proactively, they inadvertently signal to antisemites and terrorists that it’s open season on Jews,” Tamano-Shata asserted. Her remarks underscore a growing concern that the lack of preventive measures emboldens those with harmful intentions.
She further highlighted the pattern of prior incidents, noting, “This isn’t new. We’ve witnessed synagogues being burned and Israeli establishments attacked. These were clear warning signs that were ignored.” Tamano-Shata’s critique is a call for greater acknowledgment and action against what she deems the “new antisemitism.”
The recent horrific attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, where a Hanukkah celebration turned into a scene of tragedy with 15 people losing their lives, has amplified these concerns. Tamano-Shata’s sentiments reflect the broader outcry from Jewish communities both in Israel and Australia, demanding accountability and change.
Tamano-Shata’s comments echo statements from Jewish leaders both in Israel and Australia in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Sydney on Sunday, which killed 15 people and hospitalized dozens more. The shooters targeted a Hanukkah celebration taking place at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach.
Dionne Taylor, the communications manager of the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council, said it is a painful reality that the attack didn’t come without warning.
“We have been completely let down by our government,” Taylor told Fox News Digital. “We warned them that this snowball effect was going to happen, and it was only a matter of time before someone got killed.”
Armed police work at the scene after a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
“It started with hate speech,” she said. “Then graffiti. Then public demonstrations. Then firebombing synagogues, preschools, people’s homes, people’s cars. And now murder.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted a letter he sent to Albanese earlier this year when Albanese declared his support for a Palestinian state.
“Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire. It rewards Hamas terrorists. It emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew hatred now stalking your streets. Antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent; it retreats when leaders act. I call upon you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve,” Netanyahu read.
“Instead, Prime Minister, you replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement. Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia. You did nothing to curb the cancer cells that were growing inside your country. You took no action. You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also released uncommonly stark statements following Sunday’s shooting, which killed at least 11 people and hospitalized 29.
“Time and again we called on the Australian government to take action and fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism that is plaguing Australian society,” Herzog said in a statement on social media, posting an image of a prayer shawl stained in blood.
Saar added that the Australian government had ignored “countless warning signs” and called on leaders to “come to their senses.”
