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<\/a><\/p>\nMark Dreyfus speaks in Parliament House on Jan. 19, 2026 in Canberra, Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recalled parliament early, with a number of key pieces of legislation on the agenda, including the tightening of gun control laws. (Hilary Wardhaugh\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The address, delivered by Jewish parliamentarian and former attorney general Mark Dreyfus, came over a month after two gunmen motivated by what authorities said was \u201cIslamic State ideology\u201d opened fire on a celebration in Sydney, killing 15 and injuring dozens more. Most of the victims were Jewish, and Dreyfus read all of their names aloud.<\/p>\n
Dreyfus, who wore a kippah for the presentation, then commended the \u201cacts of extraordinary courage\u201d by bystanders and emergency workers during the attack, naming Ahmed al-Ahmed, the Muslim man who received widespread support from the Jewish community after he was shot while disarming one of the attackers. He also told the Australian House of Representatives that the country\u2019s \u201cresponse cannot be confined to grief,\u201d exhorting his fellow lawmakers to take action around \u201cupholding our laws against hate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he invited everyone present to rise for the Mourner\u2019s Kaddish, recited in Jewish communities in memory of the dead.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be Jewish to feel this in your chest, an attack like this hurts all of us,\u201d Dreyfus said, describing the prayer as \u201ca prayer about life, dignity and the hope for peace at times of profound loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
The public recitation was redolent of the decision of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to publish the Hebrew text of the prayer on its front page following the murder of 11 Jews in their synagogue there in 2018.<\/p>\n
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Late Tuesday, Australia\u2019s parliament passed anti-hate speech and gun reform bills initiated in the wake of the attack. The gun reform bill included new checks on firearm license applications and a national gun buy-back program, while the anti-hate speech bill banned hate groups and imposed penalties for preachers who promote hate.<\/p>\n
The hate speech component won support from liberal lawmakers who said they had free-speech concerns after it was weakened from its initial version.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe terrorists at Bondi Beach had hatred in their hearts and guns in their hands,\u201d wrote Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a post on X. \u201cToday we passed new laws that deal with both. Combatting antisemitism and cracking down on guns.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new laws come as Australia grapples with another searing antisemitic incident. Late in the day on Monday, five Jewish teenagers in Melbourne were chased for several minutes by a car whose occupants chanted \u201cHeil Hitler\u201d and performed Nazi salutes at them.<\/p>\n
The boys, aged 15 and 16 and easily identifiable as Orthodox Jews, were walking home from Adass High School when the incident occurred in the proximity of Adass Israel Synagogue, which was firebombed in December 2024. No arrests were immediately made.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe antisemitic hate incident last night in St Kilda targeting young Jewish boys has no place in our country,\u201d Albanese in a statement, according to The Australian. \u201cAt a time when Australians are joining with the Jewish community in sorrow and solidarity, it is beyond disgusting to see these cowards shouting Nazi slogans at young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
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