‘Desperately sorry’: Wong apologises to Jewish community after Bondi attack

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has apologised to Australians and the Jewish community following the Bondi Beach terror attack, conceding the federal government could have done more to confront antisemitism and hate speech.

Wong has been criticised by opposition politicians and members of the Jewish community for her absence in the aftermath of the antisemitic terrorist massacre. The attack occurred during a Chanukah gathering at Bondi Beach on 14 December, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more.

In an interview with The Advertiser in her home city of Adelaide, Wong said she was “desperately sorry for what has occurred in our country and what the Jewish community has experienced”.

“I understand people’s grief, and pain, and anger,” she said.

Wong described the massacre as “the worst terrorist attack in Australian history” and said it involved “ISIS ideology on Australian soil”.

Authorities say two Islamic State flags were found at the scene, and that a propaganda video linked to Islamic State ideology was later recovered during a police raid on a property associated with the alleged attackers.

Wong said she had not visited Bondi since the attack because she had been working as Foreign Minister, engaging with foreign counterparts and expressing condolences privately. She said she would go to Bondi “when it’s appropriate”.

She also defended her decision not to attend funerals for the victims, saying funerals were “intensely personal and generally family-led”. “I respect what families want, and I respect their grief, which is overwhelming,” she said.

Responding to criticism that she had not shown sufficient emotion, including claims by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley that she had not “shed a single tear”, Wong said grief should not be politicised.

“Sorrow isn’t political,” she said. “Sorrow is felt when we go to our places of worship, when we light a candle for those lost and for those grieving, and when we hold our children close.”

Wong strongly condemned antisemitic slogans heard at protests since October 7, including “Globalise the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea”, saying the chants actively fuel antisemitism in Australia.

“I agree with Jillian Segal that these are slogans which have been used to whip up anger and hatred of the Jewish people,” Wong said.

She said “From the River to the Sea” was inconsistent with a two-state solution and the existence of both Israel and a future Palestinian state, while “Globalise the Intifada” had been used to incite hatred.

Wong also described the firebombing of a rabbi’s car in Melbourne on Christmas morning as an “unspeakable attack”, saying it occurred while the Jewish community was still mourning the Bondi killings. “Antisemitism is unacceptable,” she said. “The government has acted. We need to do more, and we all need to work together to confront this hatred.”

Asked whether the government should have done more to stem rising antisemitism, Wong said, “Of course there’s more to do.”

She defended the federal government’s response to antisemitism, pointing to the criminalisation of hate speech and her decision in August to expel the Iranian ambassador over Iran’s links to attacks on Melbourne’s Adass synagogue and Lewis’ delicatessen in Sydney.

“Always in politics and in life you regret what more could have been done,” she said. “We acted, but we have to do more, and we are.”

Wong issued tacit support for New South Wales legislation banning hateful symbols and slogans, saying action was needed to prevent incitement.

“Look, I think this is a time we have to make sure we don’t have hatred or slogans and images which seek to incite hatred in our streets,” she said.

She rejected calls for a federal royal commission into the attack, repeating the Prime Minister’s position that the government’s focus should be on “unity and urgency, not delay and division”.

She said a criminal investigation and an intelligence review were underway to determine motivation and what further action may be required.

Speaking at a media conference in Sydney after the Bondi Beach attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would implement the recommendations of Australia’s antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal. He said the recommendations would guide action on education, online hate, law enforcement coordination and community safety. Jewish leaders welcomed the commitment but cautioned that confidence would hinge on swift implementation and enforcement, warning that the recommendations must translate into concrete action rather than remain policy statements.

Asked directly whether she would apologise to the Jewish community, Wong said she was “desperately sorry for what has occurred in our country and what the Jewish community have experienced”.

While Wong’s apology and remarks have been noted, Jewish community leaders have continued to argue that the Bondi massacre followed months of escalating antisemitism and repeated warnings that were not acted on quickly enough.

Senior Jewish leaders have also criticised political leadership for failing to act decisively as antisemitism escalated in the months before the Bondi attack. Speaking to the ABC, Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the massacre did not occur in isolation.

“This didn’t come out of nowhere,” he said. “There has been a sustained campaign of intimidation, incitement and hatred directed at Jewish Australians, and it was not stopped.” He said the failure to confront antisemitism clearly had consequences.

Communal anger was evident at the Bondi Beach memorial, where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed by sections of the crowd as he arrived, in contrast to applause for NSW Premier Chris Minns.

At memorials and vigils, speakers have called for stronger laws, tougher enforcement and sustained political leadership to ensure Jewish Australians can live and practise their faith in safety.