The beach should be a postcard of an Australian summer — families gathered on the sand, music in the air, the unguarded joy of a warm evening by the sea. Instead, a festival of light was shattered by gunfire and grief. Children ran for cover. Parents threw themselves over their sons and daughters. What should have been a celebration of life became a scene of terror.
Among the dead was Alexander Kleytman, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who rebuilt his life in Australia after fleeing Europe’s machinery of hatred. He survived the Nazis. At 87, in the country he believed would keep him safe, he was murdered for being Jewish.
Let me be unequivocal: this was an act of antisemitic terrorism by radical Islamists on Australian soil. Jewish Australians were targeted because they are Jewish. There is no context that explains it away, no euphemism that dulls its meaning, and no moral caveat that excuses it. The responsibility lies solely with the perpetrators. Our responsibility now is moral clarity — matched by resolve — to protect Jewish Australians and to ensure this never happens again.
I have walked on the ground at Auschwitz and Dachau. I have stood where hatred was systematised, where ideology stripped people of their humanity and turned neighbours into targets. Those places are not abstractions; they are warnings. They remind us that antisemitism is not a disagreement or a grievance — it is a lethal ideology. When it is tolerated, minimised, or excused, it does not fade. It grows.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, many proposals have been advanced — tighter gun laws, stronger licensing regimes, clearer powers for police where credible extremism concerns exist, and greater resourcing for intelligence and law enforcement. These measures alone do not answer the real challenge: we must confront and defeat the radical Islamist ideology that leads an individual to believe that murdering Jewish Australians is justified.
Australia has always been a nation of immigration — but it has never been a nation without standards. We need more migrants like the hero of the day, Ahmed al Ahmed — people who run toward danger to save others — and fewer who carry with them ideologies of hatred, sectarianism, or violence. That means dramatically strengthening values-based and security screening, so we know not only who is coming to this country, but whether they genuinely accept the principles that bind us together as Australians.
We must also be honest enough to say what too often goes unsaid: there are some beliefs and practices — including radical Islam — that are fundamentally incompatible with the Australian way of life. A society built on equality between men and women, the secular rule of law, freedom of religion without intimidation, and respect for difference cannot thrive if it imports ideologies that reject those foundations. Such worldviews should have no place in our immigration program.
Our immigration policy should err on the side of caution, because once someone is here, it can be extraordinarily difficult — legally and practically — to remove them. It is far better to prevent the importation of hate than to attempt to unwind its consequences after the fact.
Australia works best when we put what unites us ahead of old conflicts and imported grievances. If you want to build a life here, you must leave overseas hatreds at the door and bring instead your effort, your skills, and your commitment to this country.
For more than two years, we have seen imported hatred spill onto our streets. In the aftermath of October 7, antisemitic chants such as “gas the Jews” were reported at gatherings — including at the Opera House — alongside online celebrations of violence. That should have been a national wake-up call.
Too often, the response has been slow, hesitant, and unclear. Antisemitism has not been confronted with the seriousness it demands. Australians deserved a government willing to draw a hard line: hatred and intimidation have no place here, and those who carry them should not be welcomed.
Ultimately, this is about the ideology that individuals bring with them — and whether they are willing to join a shared national culture. Australia has succeeded in the past because most migrants have come to build, not to break: to work hard, raise families, start businesses, and embrace the non-negotiables that make this country work.
That compact is under strain. If we want to preserve a confident, welcoming Australia, we need clearer standards, stronger screening, and firmer consequences for those who glorify violence or import hatred. We should remain proud to open our doors to those who wish to contribute and belong — but we must be equally prepared to slam them shut on those who do not.
Alexander Kleytman outlived the Nazis, but he was murdered in Australia. History has already shown us where antisemitism leads when it is ignored. We must not fail to learn that lesson again.
