Emergency update: Terror attack in Sydney - with Nomi Kaltmann

Summary

Unholy: Two Jews on the News — Emergency Update: Terror Attack in Sydney
Date: December 14, 2025
Special Guest: Nomi Kaltmann

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Episode Overview

This emergency episode provides an immediate reaction and in-depth discussion of the deadly terror attack on Bondi Beach, Sydney, targeting the Jewish community during a Hanukkah celebration. Yonit Levi and Jonathan Freedland are joined by Australian Jewish journalist and community leader Nomi Kaltmann, who gives a firsthand account of events and the shock reverberating through Australia’s Jewish community. The episode explores the context of antisemitism in Australia, community fears, and the global ramifications of the attack.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Attack at Bondi Beach

• Nature of the Attack:
  • Two gunmen targeted a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach, resulting in at least a dozen deaths and dozens injured.
  • First mass shooting in Australia since 1996’s Port Arthur massacre, which led to strict gun laws.
  • Unique context: Hanukkah takes place in summer in Australia; the event was well attended and in a public, iconic setting.
  • The attack was labeled terrorism by Australian PM Anthony Albanese.

“A shooting event like this in Australia is unbelievably rare and it feels awful.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 01:43)

2. Immediate Community Reaction

• Shock and Trauma:
  • Nomi Kaltmann recounts the sudden realization of the attack via community WhatsApp and Facebook groups.
  • Widespread panic and fear within the Jewish community, with many directly affected or knowing the victims.

“I’m on WhatsApp groups with Tehilim, asking people to say prayers for the injured. I know people who are injured… it’s shocking, it’s unexpected, but it’s also just devastating.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 03:12)

• Long-building Anxiety:
  • Fears weren't new—since October 7th, and particularly after high-profile antisemitic events and attacks, the community had reported feeling unsafe.

“For months… Jews in Australia have been saying to our government, ‘We don’t feel safe.’... with a wishy-washy response.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 04:32)

3. Rising Antisemitism and Australia’s Response

• Prevalence and Escalation:
  • Antisemitic incidents have escalated: graffiti, arson, attacks on synagogues, police presence at Jewish schools.
  • Community frustrated at government inaction and lack of adequate response.

“I don't think Australia is putting everything it can behind dealing with this problem of antisemitism.” (Host, 05:12)

• Sense of Insecurity:
  • Jewish life increasingly feels ‘under siege’—security measures at schools and synagogues far beyond those for other Australian communities.
  • Discussion on the unfairness and loss of public Jewish expression.

“Why, as a Jew do I have to live like this? That’s not fair.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 08:16)

• Impact on Future Community Life:
  • Concerns about the viability of public Jewish events.
  • Uncertainty for future Hanukkah events; organizers considering cancellations.

4. Government and Political Response

• Criticism of Leadership:
  • Disappointment with the initial statement from PM Albanese, who omitted mentioning Hanukkah or antisemitism.
  • Desire for a "zero-tolerance" approach as demonstrated in other serious matters (e.g., COVID-19 response).

“We want to see a zero tolerance approach to antisemitism… not wishy washy answers.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 09:59)

• Political Climate:
  • The sense that recent elections giving the current government a strong mandate only intensifies community insecurity.

5. Speculation About Foreign Involvement

• Potential Iranian Link:
  • Past attacks on Jewish targets in Australia attributed to Iranian government activities.
  • Speculation and early investigation into whether this attack could be connected to Iran and geopolitical retaliation involving Israel.

“Is it possible it's an Iranian attack? Yes, it is possible… my bet would not be on the Australian government, it would be on Israel's intel.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 15:30)

6. Victims and Personal Impact on the Community

• Rabbi Eli Schlanger:
  • Identified among those killed; father of five, community leader, deeply involved in outreach.
  • Deep grief at the loss within the context of Hanukkah—a festival of light.

“Very hard to reconcile that someone who is so pure, so loving, so giving, does everything for community, gets murdered at the event of Hanukkah, which is supposed to spread light.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 17:41)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nomi Kaltmann on communal fear:

  “Am I stupid? I’m in my early 30s, I’ve got a whole life ahead of me. Do I want to really dedicate the next 30 years here to find out I was wrong and I needed to leave? Like, it’s scary.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 11:45)

• On Australian solidarity:

  “There were brave Australians… One of the terrorists is lying down, prone… a beach bum, dare I say, comes, he smacks the terrorist. Australians don’t like this kind of behavior. They don’t generally target Jews, but if you allow a growing sense of… complacency or slowness to deal with it, Jews know we are the canary in the coal mine.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 10:38)

• Reflection on Hanukkah’s message:

  “Even a little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness… it’s hard to understand why God would choose for something like this terrible to happen to someone so pure and so good. But in his merit, hopefully there will be more light in the world.” (Nomi Kaltmann, 18:12)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 01:18: Introduction to the attack, statistics, and overview
• 01:19 – 02:57: Nomi Kaltmann’s firsthand account; rarity of gun violence in Australia
• 02:58 – 05:00: Real-time community reactions, fear, and direct impact
• 05:00 – 09:23: Rising antisemitism in Australia and implications for Jewish life
• 09:23 – 12:45: Government’s response, criticism, and societal complacency
• 12:45 – 14:25: Potential Iranian involvement and political/geopolitical context
• 16:14 – 18:36: Remembering Rabbi Eli Schlanger, communal loss, and Hanukkah’s significance
• 18:36 – End: Closing sentiments, hope for greater light amidst darkness

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Tone and Closing Thoughts

The episode is sorrowful, urgent, and reflective, giving listeners an intimate window into a traumatized but resilient community. The hosts and Nomi Kaltmann speak plainly, at times emotionally, connecting the immediate tragedy to broader questions of belonging, safety, and political accountability for Jews in Australia.

“We hope for some light… tonight it is, as you say, the festival of Hanukkah. And there is a lot of darkness around, but we hope for some light.” (Host, 18:36)

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For listeners seeking both the facts and emotional texture of this tragic moment, the episode provides essential context and communal perspective.

Transcript

[A]

This is an unholy special update. Much of the Jewish world woke up this morning to the very grim news of a deadly terror attack on Bondi beach in Sydney, Australia. The target, the Jewish community during a Hanukkah celebration. As we record just after noon London time, there are conflicting reports of the death toll, some saying it's 12, some saying 11, with some 29 people at least injured. The shooting has been called a terrorist attack by Australia's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, as well as me here in London and Yonit in Tel Aviv. We are joined by Nomi Kaltman, who's in Australia, who unholy listeners will remember speaking with us in the summer as we did our tour of Jewish communities. Nomi is a journalist, a lawyer, a Rabban, is published widely in Harrods, the Guardian and others, and gave us a sense of life in Australia. When we spoke, you said actually that Jews have a pretty good time living in this country. And today, a much, much grimmer outlook. As we record. Naomi, just fill us in on what we know right now.

[B]

So it's the first night of Hanukkah, and Hanukkah in Australia is in the summer, so everyone is finishing up work. School finished last Friday. Everyone's sort of relaxed and in beach. And all across Australia, people go to Hanukkah parties, especially on the weekend when it's good weather. So there was a massive Hanukkah party, which they hold every year on Bondi beach, one of the most iconic and beautiful beaches in Australia. And based on the footage that I saw online, it's quite shocking. It looks like two gunmen came and deliberately targeted the Hanukkah event and killed what looks to be at least a dozen people and put dozens in hospital. And I need to be very clear, a shooting event like this in Australia is unbelievably rare and it feels awful. The last mass shooting in Australia was 1996, so nothing of this magnitude has happened in decades. And when the last mass shooting happened in 1996 is in a place called Port Arthur in Tasmania. And after that, Australia banned guns. So the sort of firearms and rifles that are common in other parts of the world were greatly restricted. We had a national register of firearms. So this attack is obviously shocking for the Jewish community, but will be equally shocking to Australians who haven't seen gun violence in 30 years. Like this, I assume.

[C]

I mean, the, the, the community in Sydney, the community in Melbourne, I assume there are messages going around. Just tell us a little bit about what the community itself is feeling, you know, I assume, you know, some of the injured or, or the family members. How, how does this work just in the sort of, even the WhatsApp groups of the, of the Jewish community in these kind of very crucial hours?

[B]

Well, it was very shocking. So I took my children to a Hanukkah event and it started quite early. I was there at about 4 o'. Clock. I wasn't at the event in Sydney, but I left at about 5:30. We had a great time, went on all the rides, ate hamburgers, you know, that kind of thing. Came home and I'm getting ready to light the Hanukkah candles with my kids and put them to bed early, maybe chill out, work out what I'm going to watch on Netflix. And all of a sudden I'm on Facebook and I sort of see a notification. I'm on all these Jewish community groups and it's a Jews of Sydney group that there's a shooting on Bondi Beach. We are sheltering in place. And I do a double take. I was like, what did I just read? So immediately my journalist instinct kicks in. I was like, I'm gonna go to Twitter to X to see if that's correct. I scream. I see the footage of two men with guns shooting at Bondi beach and I just knew. I knew. I was like, it's a. They're killing us. They're killing Jews in Sydney. It has to be us. And I scream in my husband because what's the matter? I was like, look. And I was like, panicking. And I have been glued 11.15pm at night now it's really late. I'm not usually up this late. I've been glued to technology. I'm on WhatsApp groups with Tehilim, asking people to say prayers for the injured. I know people who are injured. You know, the brother of a rabbi in Melbourne, the father of one of my friends, it's very close to home. It's shocking, it's unexpected, but it's also just devastating because for months and since October 7, October 9, when, you know, there was that famous protest in Sydney where it was f the Jews or where are the Jews? Jews in Australia have been saying to our government, we don't feel safe. We're really, really worried something bad is going to happen. And we've sort of had a wishy washy response. And this to many Jews. And on the WhatsApp groups and on the Facebook groups that I've been looking at this evening, people are furious because they see this as the Natural consequence of an ineffective and weak government who hasn't been there for our community over these past two years?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, when we spoke in the summer, you really did say that. I mean, the, the community felt there had been an insufficient response. You said to us, I don't think Australia is putting everything it can behind dealing with this problem of anti Semitism. And while you've told us, and I think for American listeners particularly will be a shock to hear how rare gun violence is in Australia, Anti Semitic attacks have really been prevalent in the, particularly in the two years since October 7th. You know, reading about graffiti in, in this particularly chilling a message on a Jewish bakery in Sydney that was targeted, I think a year ago. The graffiti message saying, be careful, Jewish, you know, kosher restaurants, Delhi's set alight, famously. Attacks, arson attacks on synagogues. The temperature has been rising, the sense of anxiety has been rising. To, to what extent is this going to be met in Australia by the Australian Jewish community as the attack here in Britain on Yom Kippur was where people said they were shocked, but they were not surprised.

[B]

I think Australians wouldn't be shocked that there was an attack on Jews, but I think they will be shocked at the magnitude of this attack. A dozen, at least a dozen dead. That's enormous. And gun violence of this nature is extremely shocking for Australians. I think that in our worst nightmares, it would have been a small attack, but this is a coordinated attack. It looks like there was IEDs, like improvised explosive devices. So there are going to be some really hard questions for our security forces. If it's a lone wolf attack, one person with a weapon, a knife, a gun, really hard to prevent. But you're having, you're seeing two coordinated, well planned, executed attacks with an ied. So really hard questions are going to be asked of our security. And also there are going to be questions about whether our community can feel safe. If you think about the area that this attack happened in, it's one of the most central beaches. And if I was watching TV tonight and they were interviewing people from all across the world, French tourists who'd only arrived here two days ago, Brazilian tourists, people from all around the world are hanging out this gorgeous beach. So to secure an area of that size, there was security present this evening, there was police present this evening. There was our community security group, which is the Jewish community's volunteer security group that helps to secure our events. But it's going, going to cause a massive rethink in our community. And I find it unfair, right, because if you if the police and if security can't secure open events, what does that mean for Jewish life? It means that we can't have our Hanukkah menorah lighting on a beach. It means we have to be indoors, in a synagogue, behind barbed wire and behind doors. It means that we don't get to express and live our Jewish life properly. And that is the worst kind of outcome because every time something of this magnitude happens, the government says, oh, here's some money for security. But as, as j. We want to be able to live our lives. I feel Australian, obviously I'm a Jewish Australian, but I feel part of this country. But there is no other group who sends their kids to school the way I send my kids to school at the Jewish school where there's a guard, where there's, you know, barbed wire, where there's thick bomb proof doors, where there's bollards. Australians don't go to school like that. When I go to synagogue, there's air locking doors where I can't open one door without the other door. That's not how Australians go to church and worship. So why, as a Jew do I have to live like this? That's not fair, you know, and that's how Jews are feeling. And then when you have an event of this magnitude, straight away on the WhatsApp, people say, well, how am I going to be safe? I'm never going to a Hanukkah party again. My brother's a rabbi in Melbourne and he runs one of the premier multicultural Hanukkah events in Federation Square, which is the main square in Melbourne. And he doesn't know if tomorrow night. It's usually, you know, five to seven nights, depending on how many nights of Hanukkah coincide with a weeknight. And he has a thousand people in the square. How can he run his Hanukkah event with all the multicultural communities if the police, if the government resourcing isn't going to be able to secure it in the main square of the city. And it makes Jews feel insecure and it makes Jews worried and it makes Jews question whether we have a space in this country, if we can't live our Jewish lives. Why do I always want to live my Jewish life behind a barrier if that's what the future's going to hold for me in Australia, what should be done now?

[C]

I mean, we heard Prime Minister Albanese saying, you know, his first response, written response, didn't even say the words Hanukkah or anti Semitism. Then he kind of Corrected himself. What should be done better to protect Jews in Australia?

[B]

Said this in, in your summer podcast, and I'll say it again, Australia has a zero tolerance approach to something. They take it very seriously. And I said I drew on the example of COVID You couldn't do anything during COVID because Australia would literally send you a $5,000 fine for driving a kilometer outside of your zone. You. Lots of Jews have been complaining consistently since October 7th. There's vilification against us online. There's hate speech in different, you know, mosques and preachers from the Islamic community who are inciting. And it's obviously not just that community that's inciting against us. There's problems on the right, there's problems on the left, but it seems to be a sort of laissez faire. Like it's a slow reaction and if something happens, it's like a low level punishment and Australia's not chucking all the resources at it. So we want to see a zero tolerance approach to antisemitism. And I don't. If you looked at this evening, at this horrible, horrible, awful terrorist attack, which is gonna be, you know, strike just something traumatic that I'm gonna remember and every Australian Jew is gonna remember as a turning point in our history in this country. You could see there were brave Australians. There's some footage going around of an Australian who tackled one of the gunmen and managed to get the weapon off him. So average Australians. And if you saw the footage as well, one of the terrorists is lying down, prone, one's been killed and one's being arrested by the police. A beach bum, dare I say, he's wearing his board shorts and he's topless. He comes, he smacks the terrorists that Australians don't like this kind of behavior. They don't generally target Jews, but if you allow a growing sense of, I guess, complacency or slowness to deal with it, Jews know we are the canary in the coal mine when it goes wrong for us. It starts with us, but it doesn't finish with us. And we know that really well. And we want the Australian government and we want the resources to instantly deal with antisemitism when it goes wrong. We don't want wishy washy answers. I guess the general perception is that the Australian government has been weak and ineffective on antisemitism. And there was a recent election and they won a resounding victory. And it makes Jews feel insecure because if this government has been wishy washy on antisemitism, they haven't been great. And then they win a resounding victory at an election. They've got a massive majority now in the parliament, so they're gonna be in for at least the next three years. How many more terrorist attacks do I have to live through in Australia? And how much more antisemitism does my friends and family have to live through to be like, all right, this is enough. This country doesn't have a future for us. We're gonna go? And you know my gut reaction tonight? I've turned to my husband. We love living in Australia. My parents are close by, my in laws are close by. I love the schools that I send my kids to. I love the shul that I go to. I said to my husband, are we gonna go? He said, nami, come on, we're not gonna go. But you get this insecurity and it's pervasive and it's that chill that gets into your bones that you can't get out. Because I'm like, am I stupid? I'm in my early 30s, I've got a whole life ahead of me. Do I want to really dedicate the next 30 years here to find out I was wrong and I needed to leave. Like, it's scary.

[A]

After our summer conversation, the Australian government had made an official pronouncement via the Prime Minister that its view was that at least two of those anti Semitic attacks, one, the torching of the Addas Yisrael Synagogue in Melbourne on the. In December last year, and that attack on the bakery were the work of Iran and the Iranian government. That was the, you know, the conclusion the Australian government came to. In other words, anti Semitism as a phenomenon is. Is one thing, but there is this extra dimension of this being an act of coordinated, an enemy attack by a foreign government. Is it at least something that you think people will be looking at, investigating? I think the Israeli media already reporting that Israel is looking at this. Israeli security branches echelon is looking at this. The thought that this could be an Iranian operation and perhaps even linked to what happened the Israeli US attack or confrontation with Iran in June this year. At the time, Iran did say there will be revenge, there will be retaliation. Has that been visited upon Australia, as I say, very early, this is speculation, but I just wonder if you are. Your own thoughts are turning to that and whether you pick up that people in Australia will at least be looking at this, given what the Australian government has already said about past attacks on Jews being the work of the Iranian government.

[B]

Well, I think that the Australian government would be grossly mistaken not to investigate it. At least one of the worst almost successful terrorist attacks in Australia was the attempt to blow up Emirates planes, or was it Etihad, one of the airlines? They were chattering amongst, you know, different terrorist groups on how to put pieces of meat grinders in and pack them with explosives and basically, basically on what they look like on X rays, it wouldn't actually show up. And Israel was one of the countries that actually listened in and gave the Australians the advice. And I'm not sure the Australian government has adequately appreciated all the help that Israel has given them over the years in combating terrorism, because that was a very near miss that was discovered by Israel and passed on to the relevant Australian authorities. So is it possible it's an Iranian attack? Yes, it is possible it's an Iranian attack. But then even more so, we want resources and protection and even more so, we want to know that the Australians are not asleep at the wheel and they've actually got a plan and they've got the right resourcing to make sure there's the right investigations and protection for our community. So I think that the relationship between Israel and Australia has been particularly fraught in the last two years. Australia recently recognised Palestine a few months ago and obviously the Israeli government wasn't very happy with that. And holistically, it seems that we're at a, I guess, a low point in the relationship between the two countries. You would just hope that the Australian government, even if this is at a low point in relations between the two countries, are actually going to take advice or heed the, I guess, security warnings from Israel. Because if I had to put my money somewhere on who has the better intel, my bet would not be on the Australian government, it would be on Israel's intel in relation to this kind of thing.

[C]

You said that some of your friends, you know, people who were injured on the beach. Perhaps we should say a bit more about Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who has been identified as being murdered in this attack. Could you talk a little bit about his family, what you know about them?

[B]

Well, he's a dad of five kids and it hits really close to home because I'm a mom of five kids and you just. You feel so terrible knowing that these little kids are going to sleep tonight and their Abba got murdered at a Hanukkah eventually. He is part of a rabbinic family. He married an Ullman. So Rabbi Ullman is one of the most important rabbis in Australia. He's the head of The Beth Din and Rabbi Schlanger. Alava Shalom was the secretary of the Beth Din. And Rabbi Schlanger was responsible for doing a lot of community outreach, visiting people in jail, taking care of Jews from the former ussr. A few months ago, I was looking at writing a story about every year in one of the most, I guess, impoverished areas in Sydney, they put up, like, they try and put up a sukkah. So I was looking at trying to work out who was behind that. And when I called the people who lived in the public housing, they said, oh, it's Rabbi Schlanger. He comes every year and he sets up the sukkah for us. And it's Russian Jews who have come to Australia as, I guess, refugees or immigrants, not too much sort of wealth and capital. And they really loved and spoke fondly of this rabbi. And it feels especially terrible that this event, Chabad, you know, Hanukkah by the Sea, run by Chabad of Bondi, is his event, his family's event, and he's getting killed at this event. And it's very hard to reconcile that someone who is so pure, so loving, so giving, does everything for community, gets murdered at the event of Hanukkah, which is supposed to spread light. And that's very hard to reconcile. But you take solace in the words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the rabbi of the seventh Rebbe of Chabad, who said that even a little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness. And it all gets mixed in with Hanukkah. And it's hard to understand why God would choose for something like this terrible to happen to someone so pure and so good. But in his merit, hopefully there will be more light in the world. And you just hope that his children, his family and his wife have comfort, because it's a very hard thing for our community to bear.

[A]

And we are all with the Jews of Australia today. Tonight it is, as you say, the festival of Hanukkah. And there is a lot of darkness around, but we hope for some light. This has been a special update. We will be back, of course, with more on this and our regular episode at the end of the week. Nomi, from I think all of us and everybody listening, our thanks to you.

[C]

And sending love and solidarity. Nomi, thank you so much.

[B]

Thank you. Hopefully I'll be back on the pod for something more uplifting and happy next time. This was very tough.

[C]

Really hope so. We hope to talk to you in calmer days. Thank you so much, Nomi.

[B]

Thank you.