Jewish Australians on the Bondi Beach attacks
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 20 December 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Australian government says it will crack down on hate speech following the deadly shooting that targeted a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach. People had come together to celebrate Hanukkah when two gunmen opened fire, killing fifteen people.
Australia’s new laws aim to target those who spread “hate, division and radicalisation". In our conversations, Jewish Australians discuss their personal experiences of antisemitism in Australia.
“You see the arson, you see the graffiti, you see the protests, you see the slogans, you see the people delegitimising Israel and its right to exist,” Sharon tells us. “And the jump is, unfortunately, not that far for people to then delegitimise the right of Jews to be in this country.”
Reports from across the world suggest that antisemitism is on the rise, particularly since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. We also bring together Jews in the US, Belgium and Germany who share their experiences of attacks on their community, and discuss what can be done about it.
Presenter: James Reynolds
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.0 | Hello, I'm James Reynolds. |
| 0:10.9 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:14.6 | In BBC OS conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences. |
| 0:19.2 | This time, Jewish people from around the world |
| 0:21.6 | discuss their experiences of anti-Semitism. The Australian government says it will crack down |
| 0:28.3 | on hate speech following the deadly shooting that targeted a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach. |
| 0:34.3 | People had come together to celebrate Hanukkah when two gunmen opened fire, killing 15 |
| 0:39.7 | people. Australia's new laws aimed to target those who spread hate, division and radicalisation. |
| 0:46.8 | Later in our conversations, we'll bring together Jews in the US, Germany and Belgium, |
| 0:51.0 | who share experiences of anti-Semitism in their lives. |
| 0:55.6 | Our first guests, though, are all Jewish Australians. |
| 0:59.4 | They spoke to my colleague Luke Jones earlier in the week a day after the Bondi Beach attack. |
| 1:04.8 | Ohad is a teacher in Melbourne. |
| 1:06.8 | Sharon lives in Bondi, and Paul and his wife Eva are from nearby Sydney. |
| 1:11.0 | It's a little bit like, you know, where were you on the night of 9-11 or the October 7? |
| 1:17.6 | And this really fits into that category, which is etched into your brain where you were at the time when you heard. |
| 1:24.6 | And what was your initial reaction? |
| 1:26.3 | It was horrific. |
| 1:27.3 | I was horrific. |
| 1:28.7 | I was shaking. |
| 1:34.7 | But, you know, to think that it was unexpected, I can't say. |
... |
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