Bondi terror probe witnesses targeted by online hate
Online harassment and intimidation was directed at witnesses appearing before the anti-Semitic royal commission, and at least one incident was reported to the police.
The commission is investigating the involvement of intelligence and law enforcement agencies that led to the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December that claimed the lives of 15 innocent people.
In the first part of the hearings, witnesses from the Jewish community testified about their experiences with anti-Semitism.
Commissioner Virginia Bell opened Tuesday’s hearing with a warning to those who harass online and intimidate witnesses.
“The commission is monitoring these incidents closely and recording these offensive social media posts,” he said.
“I don’t know how much this pure hatred and bigotry towards members of the Jewish community is thought to be of benefit to those who posted these comments.
“One of the commission’s main aims is to understand and evaluate the lived experience of antisemitism by members of the Jewish community and is informed by behavior of this nature.”
Ahead of the attack, NSW Police were warned by Jewish security group CSG that an atmosphere of increasing anti-Semitism was increasing the likelihood of a terrorist attack on the community.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Leanne McCusker, who commands the counter-terrorism team, told the commission on Monday she agreed a threat assessment should be carried out for all Hanukkah events.
One of the recommendations in the commission’s interim report published in April was that Jewish community meetings be subject to stricter security regulations.
ASIO chief executive Mike Burgess appeared as the first witness on Monday, telling the commission Jewish holy events had been identified as attractive targets for terrorists in the months before the Bondi Beach massacre.
Mr Burgess said such attacks were extremely difficult to detect when people did not discuss plans with the wider community, including prayer groups.
“We are not all-seeing or all-knowing, nor do we aspire to be,” he said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the Bondi attack was an intelligence error but defended law enforcement’s record in preventing similar attacks.
He also pushed back on concerns that a lack of communication between state and federal counterterrorism officials has created cracks for bad actors.
“We clearly had a massive law enforcement and intelligence failure in December…we need to fix it and make it better,” he told media on Tuesday.
“These are law enforcement agencies that work with advanced technology and have had success in the past.
“You don’t usually read about this because they act before someone commits terrible terrorism.”
Responding to a Daily Telegraph report that authorities were warned about one of the attackers via the national security hotline as early as 2007, Mr Minns said the warnings appeared to have been overlooked.
“This is very worrying evidence that will probably be fully investigated by the royal commission and we want to get to the bottom of it,” he said.
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