Victims of the terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia will officially be recognized by Israel as “victims of hostile acts motivated by antisemitism.” The announcement of the official recognition was made on Tuesday, nearly two months after the massacre at Bondi Beach where 15 people including children, adults and Holocaust survivors were killed and dozens more were wounded, by World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel and Jewish Agency Chairman Doron Almog.
At an emotional ceremony held at the Chabad synagogue in Bondi Beach, not far from the site of the attack on December 14, 2025, and attended by President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal, alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the families of those murdered received official certificates of recognition. Hagoel explained at the event that “the state recognition of the victims of the Sydney attack is a clear and unequivocal statement: the State of Israel does not stand by when Jews are murdered solely because they are Jews, even if it happens far beyond its borders.”
The recognition of the victims of the deadly Sydney attack as victims of antisemitic terror was granted under a precedent-setting decision by the Israeli government in May 2024, initiated and led by Hagoel. For the first time, the decision established that the State of Israel would grant official recognition to Jews in the Diaspora who are murdered outside Israel due to antisemitism. The move is part of commemorating the victims and expressing solidarity with Jewish communities worldwide and with the pain of the victims’ families. The Bondi Beach attack is considered one of the most severe antisemitic attacks against Diaspora Jewry in recent decades and the deadliest outside Israel since the 1994 AMIA bombing in Argentina.
“Our commitment to every Jew in the world brought us to Sydney—to listen, to see, to feel the pain, to embrace, to help and to encourage,” Jewish Agency Chairman Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog said in his address. Almog shared that he, too, is part of the bereaved community, noting that his extended family lost eight members, including in the October 7 attack near Gaza. He pledged that the Jewish Agency would build “a wall of mutual responsibility,” committed to acting everywhere and to “transform pain into action—aliyah, resilience, strengthening communities, strengthening the Jewish people and strengthening the State of Israel.”
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President Isaac Herzog offers words of strength to Rabbi Yoram Ulman, head of the Chabad community in Bondi Beach
(Photo: Maayan Toaf/GPO)
Among the bereaved family members attending the ceremony was Sheina Gutnick, daughter of the late Reuven Morrison, who was killed in the Bondi Beach attack. “This attack was like October 7 for us,” Gutnick said. “The State of Israel is the state of the entire Jewish people, and the fact that official representatives of Israel came here and are granting us the painful recognition that we are part of the national Israeli bereaved family is the greatest expression of commitment, love and belonging.”
Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, chair of JReady and the Jewish Agency’s Terror Victims Fund, also participated and noted that the fund had provided financial grants and support to all bereaved families affected by the attack in Australia, similar to the support provided in Israel—even though recognition as victims of hostile acts abroad does not entitle families to benefits such as National Insurance payments.
Rabbi Yoram Ulman, head of the Chabad community in Bondi Beach, whose son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger was killed in the attack, delivered words of remembrance for members of his community who were murdered on Bondi Beach.
Herzog dedicated part of his remarks to Ulman, saying: “The terrorists sought to instill fear in the Jewish people, and we respond with Jewish pride. They sought to divide through religious hatred, and we respond with solidarity among people of moral conscience, of all faiths.”
Addressing Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese —whose positions on Israel and the war in Gaza have drawn controversy—Herzog said: “Together we cry out against a despicable phenomenon with particularly devastating consequences for the free world. Terror seeks to threaten the free world and erode its values. What we saw in Bondi, a chilling act of blind hatred—hatred of Jews and hatred of Australian values—has no place in this country or anywhere else.” Herzog urged Albanese to take “broad, serious and profound steps” to combat antisemitism in Australia and referred to the decision to establish a state commission of inquiry: “I commend the legislation and initiatives you have taken. The real test will be their full implementation and their results.”
Albanese did not deliver a speech or speak publicly during the ceremony, but Herzog is expected to meet him Wednesday for an official state meeting in Canberra. Earlier, Albanese addressed the Australian Parliament and referred to Herzog’s visit and the criticism it has drawn from left-wing parties and Islamic groups.
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Demonstrations against President Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia
(Photo: AAP/Joel Carrett via Reuters )
“Here in Australia, we can disagree in a calm, respectful and substantive way,” Albanese said. “I will treat President Herzog with respect. We have known each other for a long time. He is someone with whom it is possible to conduct respectful dialogue even amid disagreements—and there are such disagreements—but he is here first and foremost to offer comfort to people who not only need it, but deserve it at this time.”
Earlier on Tuesday, around 11 a.m. Sydney time, Herzog and his wife Michal visited Moriah College, where they received a warm welcome. Hundreds of students greeted them waving Israeli and Australian flags and singing “Am Yisrael Chai.” In the school auditorium, the Herzogs and the Israeli delegation met with hundreds of high school students for an open question-and-answer session. They addressed the rise of antisemitism in Australia, the Bondi Beach terror attack and its aftermath, Israel-Australia relations and the unique contribution of Australian Jewry to the State of Israel.
Herzog encouraged Jewish students to take pride in their Jewish identity and their deep connection to Israel. Referring to the protests against his visit, he said: “I know that the protesters who curse us and spread the greatest lies against our people do not want to hear this—but I believe that the silent majority in Australia does want to hear it and wants to restore our relations to the right path.”
He also addressed criticism within Israel and within the Australian Jewish community of Albanese’s positions, saying that the purpose of Wednesday’s official visit is “to restore relations to the right track, upgrade and improve them, and restore support for Israel on both sides of the political system.”
Herzog added: “With the current government we have experienced ups and downs. There are many disagreements over how they perceive Israel’s policies, and at times they do not understand that we are defending ourselves in one of the most difficult periods, against Islamist-jihadist extremism and against the Iranian terror regime that threatens the entire world. We see ourselves as defending the free world. At times we have faced harsh criticism, but alongside that there is open and honest dialogue.”