PM says national unity is his job, as Jewish critics say he has been slow to act

• Follow our live coverage of the Bondi shooting here.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended himself against the criticisms of Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu, insisting his job in this crisis is to promote national unity, as Opposition Leader Sussan Ley joins prominent Jewish voices in saying his government was too slow to tackle rising levels of antisemitism before Sunday’s terror attack in Bondi took the lives of 15 victims.

Jewish Australians, including antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal, former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Labor MP Josh Burns, said the Jewish community had been fearing a deadly attack since synagogues were burnt and armed guards were placed outside Jewish schools in the aftermath of October 7, 2023.

On ABC’s 730 on Monday night, the prime minister refused to engage in the criticisms from Netanyahu that he had done nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism and had “replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement”.

Albanese said his job as prime minister was to provide support for the Jewish community.

“What they require me, as Australia’s prime minister at this time, is to bring the nation together, is to promote unity, is to make sure that what the terrorists seek – which is to divide us as a nation, to pit Australian against Australian – to say this is a moment of national unity.”

Albanese also disputed Netanyahu’s claim that recognition of a Palestinian state fuelled antisemitism, saying there was no link between the government’s position and the mass shooting. “Most of the world recognises a two-state solution as being the way forward,” Albanese said.

Earlier on Monday, Albanese said the government was extending funding to Jewish community security groups and seeing how it could better support Jewish charity efforts. It will also fast-track visa processing for relatives wishing to visit Australia for funerals of the shooting victims.

But Segal said the government must also immediately act on advice she delivered six months ago about countering hate towards Jewish people, starting with education in schools and communities.

“I have to say that I’ve been holding my breath, fearing that something like this would happen, because it hasn’t come without warning,” Segal said on ABC Radio National on Monday morning.

“We have not come out strongly enough against [antisemitism]. The messaging has not been sufficient, and the education has not been sufficient for people to understand what antisemitism is and how it destroys the community.

“I think that the government has to take action, because at the moment, the community is feeling terrified.”

Albanese has come under criticism for his response to antisemitism since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 and stoked domestic tensions. Jewish community leaders and former opposition leader Peter Dutton repeatedly accused him of failing to clamp down on antisemitism following a spate of attacks and threats at the start of the year – some of which were later linked to organised crime and Iranian interests seeking to capitalise on the crisis.

David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, said Sunday was a “day we have long dreaded” as he called for leaders to ramp up efforts to address antisemitism.

“We, as a community, have warned repeatedly that it was only a matter of time until blood was spilt, during the summer of terror earlier this year,” Ossip said.

Ley on Monday and said the government had taken too long to take decisive action on Segal’s advice. However, she did not directly blame Albanese for the attack nor endorse strong criticism from Netanyahu, who said Albanese’s “call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire”.

“I will focus on the Australian national interest, and the things that need to take place now after failures of governments in this country to tackle the scourge of antisemitism,” she said.

Ley said the government had been “warned, comprehensively and unequivocally, about the rising tide of antisemitism in this country”.

“I understand the frustration being expressed today by so many Jewish Australians. I know it’s really vital that we focus on the recommendations that Jillian Segal made in the report that was handed to the prime minister and his ministers months ago,” she said.

Asked about his response to the Jewish community’s fears on Monday afternoon, Albanese said they were going through a terrible time. “Terrorism is aimed at creating fear in the community,” he said.

“There is no place in Australia for antisemitism. There is no place for hatred and people who were exercising their right to express their faith through Hanukkah had every right to expect they could do that in peace.”

Earlier, Albanese said his government was doing “whatever is necessary to stamp it [antisemitism] out”.

“We have taken strong action. We’ll continue to work with the community. This morning, I’ve already had a discussion with [Segal and Jewish leaders],” he said.

“We’ll continue to work with them because this is a time where all Australians need to wrap our arms around Jewish Australians.”

Segal said she appreciated the non-Jewish community’s embrace after Sunday night’s attack.

“It’s not enough to just condemn it. We actually need to put in place a whole range of actions, which I articulated in my plan.”

The federal government appointed Segal, a lawyer and businesswoman, to the new role of special envoy to combat antisemitism in July 2024. A year later, she made a suite of recommendations for Australia’s media, education institutions and cultural events, some of which were controversial.

Albanese said the government was already following several of Segal’s recommendations. They included criminalising hate speech, creating a national student ombudsman to investigate universities, and developing a university report card to promote inclusivity for Jewish students and staff.

The Home Affairs department was also reviewing how it could strengthen immigration protocols, and the government had lifted funding to several Jewish institutions.

Segal agreed that government ministers and parts of the public sector had been working co-operatively with her since she delivered the plan. “But I think we need to accelerate the work,” she said.

“The government needs to come out and fully endorse the actions, so that there’s no doubt in any part of the public sector, and no doubt in the community that this is a full-throttle approach to fighting antisemitism.”

Burns said the Jewish community had been worried about such an attack for a long time, and the situation required cultural responses, not just legislative ones.

“You can’t go to a Jewish school or to a Jewish community organisation in Australia without there being some form of security,” he said.

“What we have seen over the last two years is a dehumanisation of the Jewish community and ... a targeting of the Jewish community in a way that clearly has real-world consequences.”

Frydenberg said many Jewish people had “warned this day would come”.

“From the burning of synagogues and daycare centres, to the doxing of Jewish artists, to the boycotting of Jewish businesses… While this has all happened, our leaders have been bystanders. They’ve allowed these flames of hate to burn,” he said on Sunrise.

“What is being done is clearly not enough, and our leaders have failed in their fundamental and first duty to protect the safety of their citizens.”

More coverage on the Bondi terror attack:

• Updates: Sydney on high alert for further terrorist acts as multiple people killed
• Watch: Incredible footage shows the moment a hero bystander tackles one of the gunmen
• What we know so far: All the details of the mass shooting
• How the world reacted: Global leaders condemn ‘deeply distressing’ attack

Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.