EDITORIAL: Anti-Semitism crisis can’t be fixed with gun control

The 15 people murdered at Bondi Beach on Sunday afternoon were not killed by inadequate firearms controls.

They are dead today, their families sitting shiva and a nation is in mourning, because of the actions of radical Islamic extremists so consumed by their hatred of Jews that they would turn high-powered rifles onto joyous family celebrations and press the trigger.

But just two days after Sydney’s most famous beach became the scene of the world’s deadliest attack on Jews since the October 7, 2023 massacre by Hamas which became the catalyst for the war in Gaza, Australia is in danger of missing the point entirely.

The majority of Australians are rightfully proud of our nation’s gun laws, enacted in the wake of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in which 35 people were murdered.

Those strict controls have been credited with making ours a nation in which gun crime is blessedly rare.

But as strong as those laws are, the forces of anti-Semitism and the grip of radical Islam on weak minds has proven to be stronger.

It is, to an extent, understandable that some quarters have once more latched onto the issue of gun control. Citizens want to be reassured that this won’t happen again. And politicians want to distract from their more serious moral failings elsewhere.

So we allow ourselves to get caught up on side issues. Should non-citizens be allowed be allowed to own guns? What limits should be placed on the number of firearms one person can own? How often should gun licences be reviewed?

Would a national firearms register improve inter-jurisdictional intelligence sharing and potentially stop weapons from ending up in the wrong hands? These are valid questions and should be examined thoroughly. If there is cause for tighter restrictions, then reform should be enacted without delay.

But at this point, it’s all just a distraction from the far greater issue of anti-Semitism.

Here’s another question: Would the inability to legally obtain firearms really have been enough of a stumbling block to have dissuaded Sajid Akram from his murderous rampage?

Or would he and his son Naveed, who is known to have links to an Islamic State terror cell, simply have acquired their arsenal through back channel means, as crime gangs all across the country manage to do without great effort?

We’ll never know the answer. But it seems unlikely that people who would gun down a little girl celebrating with her family would respect firearms bureaucracy. It should be remembered that the Akrams’ vehicle was allegedly found packed with improvised explosive devices — not items one can purchase legally.

It’s a lot easier for politicians to pass legislation further restricting gun ownership than it will be to extinguish the wildfire of anti-Semitism which has been allowed to sweep across the nation, fanned by their own inertia.

But this is not a question of what is easiest. This is a question of reclaiming Australia as a place where Jews can live their lives without fear of bloody murder.

Responsibility for editorial comment is taken by Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore