Reprinted from John’s Substack:
In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach massacre in Australia (14 December 2025), I was on “Switzerland” with the host, Tom Switzer, and Kishore Mahbubani, talking about that dreadful event and the charges of antisemitism that were swirling around it. The conversation took place on 21 December 2025, but was just posted on “Switzerland.”
Almost immediately after the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of responsibility for the massacre because he had “done nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia.” Indeed, Netanyahu maintained that Albanese was fueling antisemitism in Australia, because he recognized a Palestinian state in September 2025. Here is what Netanyahu said: “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.”
What Netanyahu is doing here is blaming the Australian leader and the Australian people for what happened at Bondi Beach, in effect deflecting criticism from the charge that this massacre might be a response to the genocide in Gaza and that his murderous policies toward the Palestinians are endangering Jews all over the world.
Turning to the facts, Netanyahu’s claims that: 1) Albanese is an antisemite who was fueling antisemitism, 2) the body politic in Australia is infected with antisemitism, and 3) recognizing a Palestinian state helped fuel Australian antisemitism. These assertions are all boldfaced lies.
The actual attackers at Bondi Beach were a father and son who were apparently motivated by ISIS ideology. There was no indication at the time of what their motive was and even today I cannot figure out exactly what motivated them to go on a murderous rampage. My surmise — and it is just a surmise — is that they were not motivated by traditional antisemitism — hatred of Jews as a people — but were instead motivated by the Gaza genocide and the ties between Chabad of Bondi — the group celebrating at Bondi Beach — and Israel.
