By Dr Sheree Trotter.
Australia’s national security and intelligence agency did not identify a heightened threat related specifically to Chanukah in its annual holiday risk assessment issued less than two weeks before the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in December 2025, according to an Australian media report published Friday.
The assessment distributed to police and government agencies warned that terrorists could target religious festivals associated with Christmas, but did not single out specific risks to Chanukah celebrations and said violent protests were more likely, Australia’s ABC said.
The report by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) came just days after a Jewish security group warned police about a heightened terrorism risk at the Chanukah by the Sea event.
Australian police said they could not provide dedicated officers, but would send mobile patrols to “check in and monitor the event.”
Fifteen people, including a 10-year-old girl and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, were killed by father-and son gunmen at Bondi Beach on the first night of Chanukah.
About 110,000 Jews live in Australia, primarily in Melbourne and Sydney.
The head of ASIO is scheduled to testify this week at the Royal Commission hearings investigating the attack.
