Spy chief warns anti-Semitism normalised ahead of Bondi Beach tragedy

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess has told a Royal Commission inquiry that anti-Semitism was left unchecked in Australia following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023. Speaking during public hearings focused on the events leading up to the Bondi Beach mass shooting, Burgess stated that violent anti-Semitic behaviours became normalised, creating a permissive environment for aggression against Jewish Australians.

The agency’s director-general described a marked escalation in severity from late 2024, where incidents shifted from threatening and intimidating conduct to the direct targeting of people, businesses, and places of worship. This period was characterised by vandalism and arson attacks on homes, schools, synagogues, and vehicles in the months preceding the December 2025 attack that killed 15 people attending a Hanukkah celebration.

In response to the spike in incidents, ASIO raised the national terrorism threat level to "probable" in August 2024. Burgess noted that the war in the Middle East invoked a range of emotions in Australia, with some violent aspects left unchecked and thereby normalised. He emphasised that this environment gave more permission for violence, with Jewish Australians bearing the brunt of the hostility.

ASIO concluded that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was responsible for two prior anti-Semitic attacks, including incidents at a kosher restaurant in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. These findings contributed to the decision to expel Iran’s ambassador in August 2025. Burgess explained that the IRGC utilises a network of proxies and agents to bring harm to Jewish people globally.

While the agency suspects Iranian involvement in further incidents, Burgess admitted that ASIO lacks sufficient evidence to definitively attribute responsibility for other attacks due to the covert nature of these proxy networks. The Royal Commission’s current hearings are examining the nature and prevalence of anti-Semitism, including testimony from members of the Jewish community, to understand the broader context of the Bondi Beach tragedy.