Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to purge Australia of antisemitism after a deadly attack on a Jewish festival. Authorities are also looking to tighten gun laws.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday promised to introduce measures aimed at banishing what he called “the evil scourge” of antisemitism from his country.
The pledge comes after Sunday’s deadly shooting at a Jewish festival at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach.
The attack on the celebration for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah killed 15 people, with one of the father-son gunmen also shot dead.
Albanese’s remarks come as his government faces renewed allegations of having done too little to combat antisemitism in the past years.
Australia has seen a marked rise in antisemitic incidents since the October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip.
What measures has Albanese proposed?
Speaking to reporters, Albanese said: “Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge.”
He conceded that “more could have always been done” to prevent such attacks.
Albanese announced “a package of legislative reforms to crack down on those who spread hate, division, and radicalization.”
Among the measures he mentioned were:
Introducing new powers to target extremist preachers
Refusing or canceling visas for people who promulgate hate speech
Making ‘serious vilification’ based on race a federal offense
Development of a regime for listing organizations whose leaders engage in hate speech
In the wake of the attack, Australian leaders have already agreed to tighten gun laws that allowed one of the two attackers to own six guns.
Although the country drastically reformed its gun laws after a 1996 deadly shooting in the state of Tasmania, there has been a steady rise in the number of privately owned firearms since then.
Over 2 million Australian dollars raised for Bondi Beach hero
Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign for Ahmed al-Ahmed, a bystander who tackled one of the gunmen and wrested his weapon from him, has raised more than 2.3 million Australian dollars ($1.5 million/€1.3 million) in donations.
The Syrian-born Al-Ahmed was hospitalized with several injuries that needed surgery after his courageous actions, which were captured in a video that has been viewed millions of times around the world.
He is expected to face a long road to recovery from his injuries, which he is believed to have sustained when the other gunman fired on him.
As a legal resident of Australia, he will not have to pay large medical bills under the country’s universal health care system.
Edited by: Farah Bahgat
DW News
