Antisemitic Violence in Australia: A Timeline of Attacks Since October 2023

Australia has witnessed a disturbing sequence of antisemitic attacks targeting synagogues, properties, and vehicles since Israel's Gaza conflict began in October 2023.

A tragic shooting on December 14 claimed at least 12 lives and injured another dozen during Hanukkah celebrations at Sydney's Bondi Beach when two gunmen opened fire.

The timeline of antisemitic incidents includes the May 25, 2024 defacement of Australia's largest Jewish school in Melbourne with graffiti.

On October 13, a Jewish bakery in Sydney was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti, accompanied by a threatening note warning the owner to "be careful."

Four days later, arsonists set fire to the front door of Curly Lewis Brewing Company in Sydney's Bondi area.

By October 20, the neighboring kosher establishment, Lewis' Continental Kitchen, was also targeted in an arson attack.

Investigators later charged a former motorcycle gang member for allegedly orchestrating these two Bondi arson attacks to divert police resources. Though he denied involvement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese subsequently revealed intelligence indicating Iranian government involvement in the Lewis' Continental Kitchen incident.

November 21 brought another wave of antisemitic violence with vehicles torched and buildings vandalized in Sydney's eastern suburbs, an area with a significant Jewish population.

In December, Melbourne's Adass Israel Synagogue was set ablaze in what police treated as a suspected terrorist attack. By August 2025, Victoria's counter-terrorism taskforce charged two individuals in connection with this incident. Albanese later confirmed this attack was also directed by Iran's government.

Following these events, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested a link between antisemitic attacks in Australia and the government's United Nations stance on Palestine.

December 9 saw the establishment of the Federal Police Task Force on Antisemitism, but attacks continued with more vehicles torched and buildings vandalized in eastern Sydney on December 11.

January 2025 brought further incidents: a man was charged after allegedly threatening worshippers near Sydney's Chabad North Shore synagogue; the Allawah Synagogue was defaced with swastikas; and Newtown Synagogue suffered both graffiti damage and an attempted arson attack. NSW Premier Chris Minns described this as an escalation of antisemitic crime.

The federal antisemitism task force made its first arrest on January 16, charging a Sydney resident over alleged death threats and vandalism.

On January 17, more vehicles were set on fire and a building formerly owned by a Jewish community leader was vandalized in Sydney's east.

January 19 saw Premier Minns announce legislation to strengthen hate speech protections and prohibit protests outside places of worship.

Two days later, a childcare center in eastern Sydney was set ablaze and defaced with graffiti. Police charged a woman in connection with the December 11 attack, and Albanese convened a national cabinet meeting to address the escalating antisemitism.

By January 29, NSW police discovered a trailer containing explosives in northwest Sydney, later revealed to be part of an organized crime network's fake plot to attack a synagogue—intended to divert police resources.

February brought a disturbing incident when two Sydney hospital nurses were suspended after posting a TikTok video threatening to kill Jewish patients and refusing to treat them, prompting a police investigation.

On July 4, twenty worshippers at East Melbourne Synagogue's Sabbath dinner fled an arson attack. Authorities arrested and charged a suspect while investigating potential connections to a disturbance at an Israeli restaurant that same evening.

The violence culminated on December 14 with the deadly Hanukkah shooting at Bondi Beach that left at least 12 dead and a dozen wounded.