A Chanukah event attended by about 2,000 people at St Ives had no NSW Police officers physically present for about 50 minutes after the Bondi terror attack began, the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has heard.
The evidence has raised questions about police deployment decisions during a night when multiple Jewish community events were taking place across Sydney amid a heightened security environment.
Scott Wilson, a former senior Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism officer, told the commission that the St Ives event at Chanukah on the Green was taking place on 14 December 2025, the same evening as the Bondi Chanukah by the Sea attack.
The Bondi attack began at about 6.41pm. The commission heard that police were alerted to the incident and resources were redirected as the scale of the attack became clear.
Wilson told the commission that, based on the information available to him, there appeared to have been no NSW Police officers physically present at St Ives for about 50 minutes after the Bondi attack began. Counsel assisting then asked whether that meant there was a period when no police officers were at the event.
“It would appear so, yes, sir,” Wilson replied.
Wilson said, however, that he could not determine whether the police deployment was inadequate without reviewing the specific threat and risk assessment prepared for the event.
“I’m not particularly aware of the threat or risk assessment conducted on that event by Kuring-gai Command,” he said.
“I haven’t seen it and what the outcome of that was.”
He said it was also unclear whether the officers allocated to the event were expected to remain there throughout or whether they were assigned broader duties.
“It’s not clear to me whether they were to be present at the event the whole time of the event or whether they were to do tasking through that event,” Wilson said.
The evidence came as the commission examined whether existing security arrangements are sufficient for Jewish community events following the Bondi attack.
Wilson said the St Ives situation highlighted the challenge facing police when several major Jewish events are taking place at the same time.
He previously told the commission that rapid access to specialist police capability was critical during a terrorist attack.
“It’s all about proximity,” Wilson said.
“It’s all about how quick you can get your specialist firearms officers to that scene to neutralise the threat.”
The St Ives event was not without security. Community Security Group NSW provided protection for the gathering, as it does for many Jewish schools, synagogues and community events.
However, the evidence highlighted a concern raised repeatedly by Jewish community representatives: whether community organisations should be expected to carry increasing responsibility for security when police resources are stretched.
Asked whether the St Ives incident helped explain why some Jewish organisations wanted greater responsibility for their own protection, Wilson said he would need to examine the relevant risk assessment.
“I’d have to see the threat assessment or the risk assessment conducted on that specific event, and see where any differences lay with community security group and the police who conducted that risk assessment,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner David Hudson, NSW Police’s counter-terrorism lead, told the commission that police remained responsible for protecting all communities.
“Protection of all members of the community is the responsibility of the police,” Hudson said.
He rejected suggestions that Jewish organisations or other groups should have separate armed security powers.
“It’s our opinion that allowing certain areas of society, no matter what those areas are, to have special privileges in relation to their security would further fracture fairly tenuous situations and relationships between different groups,” he said.
Hudson said police decisions were based on intelligence and threat assessments.
“If our risk assessment or threat assessment indicates that we require an armed response, we will have an armed response,” he said.
The St Ives evidence adds another dimension to the commission’s examination of Jewish community security following the Bondi attack.
The broader question before the commission is how Australia should balance police responsibility, specialist response capability and the security needs of communities facing a heightened threat environment.