Amid an assessment being examined in Israel that Iran was behind the attack during a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a condemnation Sunday, without mentioning that the massacre targeted the Jewish community or that it took place during a Hanukkah event.
“Iran condemns the violent attack against civilians in Sydney, Australia. Terror violence and mass killing shall be condemned, wherever they're committed, as unlawful and criminal,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said. Australia severed diplomatic ties with Iran earlier this year and accused Tehran of directing other terror activities, including arson attacks against Jewish institutions.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein responded sharply to the Iranian statement, saying: “The world record in deception belongs to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman. Iran has carried out deadly terrorist attacks against Israelis and Jews in the past and constantly seeks to murder Israelis and Jews around the world.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar earlier spoke with his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, following the antisemitic terror attack in Sydney in which 11 people were killed. Wong initiated the call and said Australia has defined the incident as a “terrorist event” and is determined to apprehend all those involved.
Sa’ar urged the Australian government to take meaningful steps against antisemitism. He told Wong that since Oct. 7, there has been a sharp rise in antisemitism in Australia, including violent incitement against Israel and Jews, evident both online and in public spaces, including comparisons of Israel to the Nazis and the Holocaust.
He stressed that slogans such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” “Globalize the intifada” and “Death to the IDF” are illegitimate and not protected speech. “The Australian government must act against the use of these antisemitic chants,” he said.
Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, told ynet: “The writing was on the wall. For two years, we have seen a meteoric rise in antisemitic incidents, along with a worsening in their nature. In the Australian intelligence chief’s national annual threat assessment, he spoke of a high probability of a terrorist attack. You can’t say this attack came out of the blue.”
Maimon said Australian authorities are examining the possible involvement of an external actor in the attack, amid a growing assessment in Israel that Iran was behind the deadly assault. “From the video footage I received, it appears the terrorists studied the area. They fired from a distance and used long-barreled weapons,” he said. Asked directly about Iran’s involvement, he did not respond definitively, but noted that “in Australia it takes longer to process information. They are less accustomed to such events, but they do respond forcefully in the end.”
Maimon also addressed Australia’s response to Iran’s involvement in previous antisemitic attacks in Melbourne and Sydney. “They didn’t just expel the ambassador. They also designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. Australia is only the third country to do so, after the United States and Israel,” he said.
4 View gallery
Documentation of terrorists shooting from the bridge
(Photo: According to Section 27A of the Copyright Act)
Meanwhile, President Isaac Herzog spoke with leaders of Australia’s Jewish community following the attack. Herzog spoke with David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, and Rabbi Levi Wolff, rabbi of Sydney’s Central Synagogue, and expressed shock over the attack on Jews who had gathered to mark the lighting of the first Hanukkah candle.
Herzog stressed that Israel stands with the Jewish community in Australia. “The Jewish people never give up. We are an eternal people, and the candles will be lit again as of tomorrow, again and again, all over the world,” he said. Rabbi Wolff responded: “We have shown over the years that no one can hold us down, and we will move on stronger.”
The death toll from the antisemitic terror attack has risen to at least 11, with 29 wounded. One of the attackers was identified as Sydney resident Naveed Akram, 24. Police raided his home and arrested two people in the area. Investigators said they are also examining the possibility that a third attacker was involved. Several explosive devices were found under the bridge from which the attackers opened fire and in the vehicle believed to have been used to reach the scene; bomb disposal units neutralized them.