Australia’s Top Prelate Condemns x Attack, Calls for National Action Against Antisemitism

The President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB of Perth, has strongly condemned the violent attack in Bondi that targeted members of the Jewish community during a Hanukkah celebration, calling for urgent national action to confront antisemitism in Australia.

In a statement issued on January 1, Archbishop Costelloe recalled that on December 14, Jewish families and communities had gathered in Bondi to celebrate Hanukkah, a festival symbolizing light, hope, and perseverance. That spirit of peace and joy, he said, was “shattered by the horrific violence unleashed against them.”

While public leaders have repeatedly insisted that “there is no place for antisemitism in Australia,” the Archbishop warned that the Bondi attack exposes a troubling reality. “Tragically, we are now confronted by the terrible truth that there are dark places in our society where this most ancient of hatreds festers,” he said.

Archbishop Costelloe welcomed the establishment of the Richardson Review, which will examine the adequacy of policing, security, and intelligence-sharing mechanisms responsible for protecting Australians from terrorist attacks. He described the review as “an important step” toward ensuring that such violence is not repeated.

“If there have been failures, they need to be identified and rectified quickly,” he stressed.

However, the Archbishop emphasized that stronger security measures alone are not enough. He urged the nation to confront what he described as the “deeper roots” of antisemitism and to take decisive steps to eradicate it from Australian society.

“It is important to also name and confront the deeper roots and the extent of antisemitism in Australia and to propose ways to eradicate it,” he said.

Archbishop Costelloe called for a broader, well-resourced national inquiry, alongside the Richardson Review, with the authority to examine how antisemitism manifests across political, business, academic, media, religious, and cultural institutions.

“Only by shining a light into the dark corners of our society,” he said, “can we hope to unmask the antisemitism which might otherwise go unseen, unacknowledged and unaddressed.”

Highlighting the Catholic Church’s commitment to interreligious solidarity and human dignity, the ACBC President underlined that protecting one community ultimately safeguards the entire nation.

“A society that protects its Jewish community is a society that protects everyone,” he said, adding that the fight against antisemitism is a commitment to shared humanity and to the ideals embodied in Australia’s national ethos of fairness.

Archbishop Costelloe concluded by calling on all Australians to work together to ensure that the country truly lives up to its stated values. “We must all work together to ensure that there is, indeed, ‘no place for antisemitism in Australia,’ or for any other form of religious, racial, or cultural hatred or persecution.”

The statement adds the voice of Australia’s Catholic bishops to growing calls for unity, vigilance, and moral courage in the face of rising religious hatred and violence.