The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has announced plans to ban the chant “globalise the intifada,” classifying it as hate speech, as part of a sweeping response to last Sunday’s deadly attack at Bondi Beach. The shooting, which targeted a Jewish festival, left 15 people dead and dozens injured, marking Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades.
Authorities believe the two gunmen were motivated by “Islamic State ideology.” In the attack’s aftermath, state and federal governments have unveiled a raft of new measures to counter extremism and tighten security.
NSW Premier Chris Minns plans to recall parliament next week to pass stricter hate speech and gun laws. He confirmed the specific ban on the intifada chant, a term that emerged from Palestinian uprisings, which some interpret as a call for violence against Jewish people and others view as a call for peaceful resistance.
“Through the week, Bondi’s surf volunteers have been commemorated as some of the heroes of the shooting,” the report noted, highlighting lifeguard Jackson Doolan, who was photographed sprinting to the scene with a medical kit.
Minns has also called for a Royal Commission into the Bondi attack and suggested tightening protest laws to ensure “a summer of calm.” His actions follow the arrests of two pro-Palestinian protesters in London this week for allegedly shouting slogans involving “intifada.”
On a national level, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a new gun buyback scheme, predicting hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed. This echoes the transformative strict gun controls enacted after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which killed 35.
The community continues to mourn. Premier Minns and NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane attended the funeral of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim, where Minns read a poem in her honour.
Over the weekend, tributes unfolded along Australia’s coastlines. At Bondi and other beaches, around 1,000 lifeguards stood arm-in-arm facing the ocean. Hundreds of swimmers and surfers also formed a giant circle in the water at Bondi in a communal paddle-out.
Australia will hold a national day of reflection on Sunday, exactly one week after the attack began. A minute’s silence is planned for 6:47 p.m., under the theme “light over darkness.” Flags will fly at half-mast, and citizens are asked to light a candle in their windows.
“Sixty seconds carved out from the noise of daily life, dedicated to 15 Australians who should be with us today,” Prime Minister Albanese said. “It will be a moment of pause to reflect and affirm that hatred and violence will never define us as Australians.”
By James Kisoo
