Australia has set up a royal commission into antisemitism after the December 2023 shooting at a Hanukkah event on Bondi Beach that killed 15 people. Police shot dead the gunman, Sajid Akram, 50, at the scene. His son, Naveed Akram, 24, was critically injured and later moved from hospital to prison. He has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist attack. [1]
The commission had received nearly 7,500 submissions by early May 2026, as public concern over antisemitism has surged since October 2023. The fact set says antisemitic comments have become more socially and morally acceptable in public discourse. Sheina Gutnick told the commission, "I saw people trying to excuse and justify the events as only anti-Zionist." She added, "I felt as though antisemitism was allowed to come into the open. All of a sudden it was socially, morally acceptable for antisemitic comments to be made in public discourse." [1]
Former High Court judge Virginia Bell heads the inquiry and has issued an interim report with 14 recommendations, including gun law reforms and policing measures for Jewish events. The commission’s first block of public hearings is focused on the lived experience of antisemitism. [1]
That hearing block is scheduled to run until 15 May 2026. [1]