The Japan Times - Australian Jewish group warned of 'terrorist attack' before Bondi shooting: inquiry

Sajid Akram and son Naveed are accused of opening fire as Jewish families thronged Bondi Beach for a Hanukkah celebration in December, killing 15 people in Australia's deadliest mass shooting for 30 years.

Australia's Jewish community "was the evident target of the attack", a high-powered royal commission tasked with investigating the shooting concluded in an interim report.

The report revealed a Jewish security group had warned police that upcoming Hanukkah celebrations were at risk in an email sent less than a week before the Bondi attack on December 14.

"A terrorist attack against the NSW Jewish Community is likely and there is a high level of antisemitic vilification," the Community Security Group wrote in an email released by the inquiry.

Police later said they could not provide dedicated officers, but would send mobile patrols to "check in and monitor the event".

The inquiry said police should consider ramping up security arrangements at Jewish celebrations "that have a public facing element".

Asked by reporters if police had failed to properly monitor the Bondi event, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was a matter for the New South Wales state government.

He said his government would "implement all the recommendations" of the report.

"I can assure the Australian public that the government will do everything necessary to protect the community in the wake of the Bondi attack," he said.

The federal royal commission -- the highest level of government inquiry -- has been tasked with probing everything from intelligence failures to the prevalence of antisemitism in Australia.

It found that Australia's counter-terrorism capabilities "could be improved".

Law enforcement agencies should commence a snap review of "leadership structures" and "information sharing arrangements" between teams responsible for counter-terrorism, the inquiry found.

- 'We demand answers' -

The mass shooting has sparked national soul-searching about antisemitism, anger over the failure to shield Jewish Australians from harm, and promises to stiffen gun laws.

Victims' families penned an open letter in December urging Albanese to "immediately establish a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the rapid rise of antisemitism in Australia".

"We demand answers and solutions," they wrote.

Royal commissions hold public hearings and can sometimes run for years.

The Bondi Beach inquiry is led by Virginia Bell, a widely respected former High Court judge.

Alleged gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the assault.

His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen who remains in prison, has been charged with terrorism and 15 murders.

H.Nakamura--JT