Israel’s ultra-Orthodox political leaders condemn antisemitism after deadly Bondi Beach attack

The heads of the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties condemn today’s shooting attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, noting that Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary, was among the nine people killed.

“I am deeply shaken to my core by the heinous attack in Sydney against Jews, during a Chabad Hanukkah event. The horrific scenes recall the Simchat Torah massacre,” says Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, referring to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel. “I send condolences to the families of the murdered, including the family of Chabad emissary Rabbi Eli Schlanger, of blessed memory, and I pray for the recovery of the injured.”

He expresses solidarity with “Chabad emissaries who work selflessly around the globe” despite “threats and terror,” says other countries that have seen outbursts of anti-Jewish sentiment should take notice.

“The wave of antisemitic incitement that has risen in Australia erupted today into a despicable murder and serves as a stark warning to countries that grant legitimacy to hatred of Jews,” he says.

Chabad has thousands of emissaries around the world, including in far-flung locales with few observant Jews. In the last two decades, Chabad rabbis in the United Arab Emirates and India have been killed in targeted attacks.

Also mentioning Schlanger by name, United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf also offers prayers for the wounded and killed, declaring that “antisemitism is the same everywhere. Hatred of Jews knows no borders and erupts wherever incitement and terror are met with a blind eye.”