“Every Australian, like me, is completely appalled by this attack on our way of life. There is no place for this hatred, for violence and for terrorism in our country,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference on Sunday about the attack near Bondi Beach in Sydney. “Let me be clear: we will eradicate it.”
Albanese called the attack targeted on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah. „[Dit is] an act of virulent anti-Semitism, terrorism, that has struck the heart of our nation.”
“My message to the Jewish community is that all Australians stand with you. An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.” Albanese called the attack “senseless.” “This attack is intended to sow fear, but we will stand with the Jewish community and all Jewish Australians.”
The Prime Minister expressed his condolences to all victims and relatives.
The attack has been classified as a terrorist act. The national terror threat level will not be raised, Australian security agency ASIO chief Mike Burgess said at a news conference. “I don’t see that changing at this point,” he said. The level is rated at “probable,” meaning there is a 50 percent chance that a terrorist act could occur, Burgess explained.