Australia’s top intelligence official has warned that antisemitism was not confronted forcefully enough following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, allowing hostility towards Jews to become increasingly normalised and contribute to later violence, reports The Times of Israel.
Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, made the remarks during hearings linked to Australia’s ongoing Royal Commission investigation into the deadly Bondi Beach terror attack.
The inquiry is examining the events leading up to the December 2025 attack, in which 15 people were killed during an assault targeting the Jewish community at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach.
Burgess told the commission that the conflict in the Middle East triggered strong emotions across Australia, but warned that antisemitic intimidation and violence were not adequately challenged in the months that followed.
According to Burgess, antisemitic behaviour gradually became socially tolerated in some environments, creating conditions in which more serious violence became possible.
“Jewish Australians were on the receiving end,” he said, explaining that threatening and hateful behaviour increasingly escalated into direct attacks against Jewish individuals, synagogues, schools, homes, and businesses.
The intelligence chief said the rise in antisemitic incidents contributed to the government’s decision in August 2024 to raise Australia’s national terrorism threat level to “probable.”
From late 2024 onwards, authorities observed a sharp escalation in the severity of antisemitic activity, including vandalism, arson attacks, and threats targeting Jewish institutions.
Burgess also stated that Australian intelligence agencies concluded that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible for two major antisemitic attacks: one targeting a kosher restaurant in Sydney and another against the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.
The findings reportedly led to the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador from Australia in August.
Burgess said intelligence agencies suspect Iran may have been involved in additional antisemitic incidents, but lacked sufficient evidence to make definitive public attributions in every case.
He warned that Iran often operates through proxy networks and intermediaries to target Jewish communities abroad.
The Royal Commission hearings have focused heavily on the growing threat of antisemitism in Australia and its impact on Jewish communities. Earlier testimony heard from Jewish Australians described increasing fear, intimidation, and hostility following the outbreak of the Gaza war.
The inquiry reflects mounting concern among Australian authorities that antisemitism has shifted from online abuse and protest rhetoric into organised intimidation, violent attacks, and potential foreign-backed extremism targeting Jewish life in Australia.
Photo credit: David Gray/AFP
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