Ex-PMs, Israeli minister slam Albanese over Bondi

Israeli diaspora affairs minister Amichai Chikli criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, saying slogans chanted at a large pro-Palestinian march on the Sydney Harbor Bridge provoked the atmosphere that led to the Hanukkah massacre.

Speaking at the commemoration ceremony held in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack on Bondi beach, where 15 people were killed by father and son gunmen on Sunday, Chikli said that the events were not a surprising development.

“The writing was on the wall in capital letters, warning signs have been flashing for the last two years,” he told a congregation of Jewish-Australians at Chabad Bondi late Wednesday.

He specifically targeted phrases such as “Globalize the Intifada” and “From river to sea.”

Mr Chikli also claimed that the presence of outlawed Islamic State and Hamas flags, as well as Palestinian flags, on the bridge were problematic symbols.

“We heard no condemnation from the (Australian) prime minister… on the contrary, we saw recognition of a Palestinian state,” Mr Chikli said.

“This (Bondi beach) was a horrific terrorist attack but it was well predicted…it is a direct result of the statements about the Sydney (Harbor) Bridge and the previous attacks.”

The Israeli minister said Mr Albanese had avoided pointing to Islamic terrorist extremists as the cause of the atrocities and instead hid behind arms reforms.

“The problem is ideology, not weapons… it’s time to wake up,” he said.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon previously said officers found two homemade Islamic State flags in a car registered to 24-year-old Naveed Akram, who was charged with 59 offenses on Wednesday.

His father, 50-year-old Sajid, was killed in a shootout with police officers.

NSW Police say initial indications point to an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack.

Former prime minister Scott Morrison, who describes himself as a Christian Evangelical, said it was disheartening that Holocaust survivors and their descendants who found safety in Australia after the Second World War were considering leaving.

He also took a similar stance, accusing the Albanian government of “turning a blind eye” to anti-Semitic attacks over the past two years.

“The weapon used last Sunday was antisemitism and that is what needs to be disarmed in this country,” he told AAP.

“This has to stop. They left the door open.”

Former prime minister Tony Abbott accused the Albanian government of pandering to large Muslim communities, failing to name them and allowing left-wing ideas to infiltrate institutions.

“I stand here with anger that the soul of our nation has been tainted by this terrible cruelty,” he said.