MELBOURNE, Australia — A wide-ranging federal inquiry began on Tuesday into a rise in antisemitism across Australia before two gunmen believed to be inspired by the Islamic State group allegedly killed 15 people at a Sydney Jewish festival in December.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced last month that Australia's most powerful form of public inquiry, known as a royal commission, would investigate the Dec. 14 massacre at Bondi Beach.
Alleged shooter Sajid Naveed was shot dead by police. His son, Naveed Akram, faces charges including committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of attempted murder. He has entered no pleas.
Royal Commissioner Virginia Bell, who heads the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, said she did not want evidence that she heard to prejudice Akram’s criminal trial.
“One might expect a royal commission set up to inquire into an attack would lead evidence of it and of the heroism of those who sort to confront the shooters and of those who ran toward the gunfire to offer medical assistance to the wounded,” Bell said in an opening address.
“The trial of that individual (Akram) will be the occasion to lead evidence of the attack. This commission must do its work without risking any prejudice to that criminal proceeding,” she added.
Royal commissions, which can imprison witnesses who refuse to cooperate, often request time extensions as more evidence is discovered.
Bell is the sole commissioner. As well as lawyers, the commission’s staff include analysts, researchers and other office workers, according to Richard Lancaster, who leads a team of lawyers in his role as the Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission. Lancaster's job is to manage the investigation’s direction, present Bell with evidence and question witnesses.
Completing her report by the deadline of the massacre's first anniversary is a “matter of critical importance," Bell said.
“This imposes a tight time frame and it’s going to impose limitations on how the commission approaches its terms of reference,” the retired high court judge said.
Bell also acknowledged religions and ethnicities other than Jewish suffered prejudice in Australia.
“I expect that social cohesion will be advanced by measures that address discrimination against religious faiths, ethnicities and cultures generally,” Bell said. “Nonetheless, against the background of the massacre of innocent people who appear to have been targeted simply because they were Jewish, I trust everyone will appreciate why the focus of this commission will be on tackling antisemitism.”
Bell must make an interim report by the end of April. That report will examine interaction and information-sharing between federal and state agencies, as well as organizers of the Hanukkah celebration that was attacked. She will investigate security arrangements and report on whether intelligence and law enforcement agencies performed to maximum effectiveness.
The commission must identify gaps in legal and regulatory frameworks that might impede the ability of law enforcement, border control, immigration and security agencies to prevent and respond to such an attack.
Bell will make recommendations to help law enforcement, border control, immigration and security agencies tackle antisemitism through areas such as staff training. The commission will examine the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in institutions and society including drivers such as extremism and radicalization.
Bell and her staff also will review security at Jewish places of worship, education and cultural facilities, as well as public events.
The commission staff already has issued government agencies with dozens of notices to provide documents and more would be issued, Lancaster said, adding that dates for public hearings had not yet been set.
Albanese initially resisted calls from victims’ families, Jewish leaders and opposition lawmakers to establish a royal commission, arguing it would take too long to provide answers.
Instead, he appointed retired bureaucrat Dennis Richardson to examine the roles of intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies, as well as potential failings in procedures and laws that led to the shooting. That inquiry was to report in April.
Richardson’s inquiry has been folded into the royal commission and he has been appointed Bell’s special adviser.
Reports of antisemitism Islamophobic behavior have increased markedly in Australia since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023.
Jews account for fewer than 120,000 people in Australia’s population of 28 million and 85% of the Jewish population live in Sydney and Melbourne.
In 2024, the Australian government named a special envoy to confront a rise in antisemitism across the country. Months later, the government also appointed a special envoy to combat Islamophobia.
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