The Cost of Complacency

The Bondi Beach terror attack was not an intelligence failure but a collapse of vigilance, where ignored warnings, unchecked radicalisation and lax gun laws proved fatal

- SHANTANU MUKHARJI

Terrorists have struck again, killing 15 people—this time at the heart of Australia—targeting the Jewish community during their religious festival, Hanukkah, at the popular tourist destination of Bondi Beach in Sydney.

Prima facie, it is clearly evident that the terrorists, a father and son duo, both Australian citizens—Sajid ‘Akram (50) and Naveed Akram (24)—carefully chose the Jewish community in an apparent move to strike at it in pursuit of their antisemitic blueprint, ostensibly to avenge the October 7 retaliation by Israel related to the Gaza violence.

Further, it is also clear that the perpetrators behind the mass shooting at the Jewish celebration in Sydney were motivated by Islamic State (IS) ideology, as per the Australian government. Investigators have further stated that police found two homemade IS flags in the car that the suspects drove to the site of the massacre on December 14. Police also recovered improvised explosive devices from the vehicle. This confirms that radical perversion continues to pose a serious challenge. This assessment was also endorsed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while speaking to the media.