Israeli Ambassador Warned for Four Years That Graffiti Would Lead to Bodies. He Was Right.
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Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon spent four years warning Australian officials that escalating antisemitic attacks would end in violence. On December 14, his worst fears became reality when 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach.
The tears hadn’t dried on Ambassador Amir Maimon’s face when he stood before reporters at Bondi Beach on Monday.
Behind him, the site where gunmen had opened fire on Jewish families celebrating Hanukkah less than 48 hours earlier. In front of him, a nation asking how this could happen in Australia.
Maimon had an answer. He’d been giving it for four years. Nobody listened.
The Warnings Nobody Heeded
Speaking at a press conference near the attack site, Ambassador Maimon described a clear pattern of escalation he had repeatedly flagged to Australian officials and media since taking his post.
It started with graffiti on synagogues calling for “death to Israel” and “death to the IDF.” Then came arson attacks on cars. Then firebombings of Jewish community buildings.
Maimon visited each one. The Adas synagogue in Melbourne after it was firebombed. The Eastern Melbourne synagogue. The Newtown synagogue in Sydney, attacked in January 2025. The Southern Sydney synagogue, which had previously been targeted in 1991 and 1993.
“What one can expect when graffities are painted all over Australia on synagogues, buildings, public buildings, calling for the death of Israel, death to the IDF,” Maimon said. “And then cars are put on fire.”
The next step, he had warned, would be bodies.
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Former Prime Minister John Howard has accused the Albanese government of failing to protect Jewish Australians following the Bondi terror attack, labeling the response to rising antisemitism as weak and “equivocal”. In a Sky News interview, Howard argued that leaders have used “weasel words” instead of forcefully denouncing hatred, asserting that Jewish communities feel abandoned by a government more focused on internal politics than moral clarity.
The Escalation Pattern
Australia had witnessed a five-fold increase in antisemitic incidents in the two years following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry documented more than 3,700 anti-Jewish incidents between October 2023 and December 2025, ranging from vandalism to physical assaults.
In August 2024, ASIO (the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) raised the national terrorism threat level from “possible” to “probable,” citing community tensions and political grievances as key risk factors.
Yet Jewish community leaders and the Israeli ambassador say their concerns were repeatedly dismissed or downplayed.
Rabbi Eli Feldman, who spoke alongside Maimon at the press conference, was blunt.
“What started off with graffiti is going to end up with bodies, and it’s exactly what’s happened,” Feldman said. “No one can say they weren’t warned. My ambassador said it. The Jewish community said it. Our leadership was saying it. Rabbi Wolf was saying it. Everyone was saying it. And no one was listening.”
What Is an Embassy’s Role in Warning About Antisemitism?
An ambassador represents their nation’s interests abroad, but also serves as a voice for their diaspora community. For Israel, this means monitoring threats to Jewish communities worldwide.
Ambassador Maimon clarified that he represents “the state of Israel, the state of the Jewish nation” rather than speaking on behalf of Australian Jews. However, his four-year tenure has been marked by consistent public warnings about the trajectory of antisemitic violence in Australia.
His warnings were not partisan or isolated. Australian security officials had echoed similar concerns, but Maimon argues the political response failed to match the threat level.
The Diplomatic Tightrope
When asked directly whether Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had done enough to prevent the attack, Maimon declined to criticize.
“I’m not here to point fingers. I’m here to embrace,” Maimon said. “I’m here to hug the community.”
However, he did praise NSW Premier Chris Minns as “very receptive, very cooperative” and “a dear friend to the community,” noting he would meet with Minns immediately after the press conference.
The distinction was notable. Other Israeli officials have been far more direct. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Australia’s recognition of Palestine in September 2025 for “pouring fuel on the antisemitic fire.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said his government had “repeatedly warned the Australian government of the urgent need to uproot” antisemitism.
The Human Cost of Ignored Warnings
The attack killed 15 people, including 10-year-old Matilda and Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, who died shielding his wife from bullets. At least 42 people were hospitalized.
Among the dead was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, who had organized “Chanukah by the Sea” and had placed a menorah at Bondi Beach for 20 years to celebrate the Jewish festival of lights.
For Maimon, the losses were personal, not just political.
“The people that were brutally murdered here are people that I’ve known, I’ve met,” Maimon said, his voice breaking. “My vocabulary is rich enough to express how I feel. My heart is torn apart.”
What Comes Next
Maimon says enhanced security measures are necessary but insufficient. The real solution, he argues, is education and a fundamental shift in how Australian society confronts hate speech before it becomes hate violence.
“The only community that is in need to go through security in order to exercise their right to worship their God is the Jewish community,” Maimon said. “Only the Australians of Jewish faith are forced to worship their gods behind closed doors, CCTV guards. It’s insane.”
Jewish community leaders are calling for Australia to work more closely with Israel on counter-terrorism strategies. Alex Rivchin of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry argued that Australia should “be bringing Israel closer and learning from Israel how to deal with the threat of fundamentalism.”
Whether Australia’s political class will now heed warnings it ignored for four years remains to be seen.
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