Benjamin Netanyahu UNLEASHES on Australian PM: “You’re FUELLING Antisemitism with Weak Leadership – REPLACE Weakness with Action or Face the Consequences!”
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slams Australian PM Anthony Albanese, accusing him of pouring “fuel on the antisemitism fire” by recognising a Palestinian state.
- Fifteen victims dead and many more injured in the horrific Bondi Beach shooting attack on a Jewish festival.
- Netanyahu praises the bravery of a Sydney bystander who intervened and wrestled a gun from one of the attackers, but blasts Albanese for inaction.
- Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong cancels trip to China and Japan as tensions escalate in the wake of the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a scathing attack on Australian PM Anthony Albanese, accusing him of “betraying” Israel and fuelling antisemitism with his weak leadership. In a fiery address, Netanyahu said: “Antisemitism is a cancer that spreads when leaders stay silent and do not act. I call upon you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve.”
Netanyahu’s comments come in the wake of the devastating Bondi Beach shooting attack, which left 15 people dead and many more injured. The Israeli PM praised the bravery of a Sydney bystander, believed to be a Muslim man, who intervened and wrestled a gun from one of the attackers. However, he lambasted Albanese for failing to take action to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia.
“Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia. You did nothing to curb the cancer cells that were growing inside your country,” Netanyahu said. “You took no action. You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today.”
Albanese refused to hit back at Netanyahu’s comments, instead calling for national unity in the face of tragedy. “This is a moment for Australians to come together,” he said. However, Netanyahu’s criticism is the latest in a long line of attacks on Albanese’s leadership, with the Israeli PM accusing him of “pouring fuel on the antisemitism fire” by recognising a Palestinian state.
US President Donald Trump also weighed in on the attack, praising the bravery of the Sydney bystander who intervened. “In Australia, you probably read, it’s been a very, very brave person who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives,” Trump said.
As tensions continue to escalate, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has cancelled her planned trip to China and Japan. Wong spoke to her Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, in the hours after the attack, and expressed Australia’s condolences. However, Sa’ar continued the Israeli government’s criticism of Australia, saying that security for the Jewish community would only be achieved through a “real change in the public atmosphere”.