Former Australian Prime Minister Says Albanese Failed to Show Moral Leadership on Antisemitism

SYDNEY — Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Tuesday sharply criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, saying the country’s leader has not done enough to confront rising antisemitism and failed to provide the moral leadership the moment demands.

Speaking to reporters in Sydney following Sunday’s deadly antisemitic terror attack at Bondi Beach, Howard said the government’s response has fallen short, particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led assault on Israel.

“Given that the Hamas attack of 2023 was the largest Jewish death toll since the Holocaust, you can understand the sensitivity of Jewish people all over the world,” Howard said. “Surely after what happened, he could have said more.”

Howard described Albanese’s handling of antisemitism as his “greatest failure,” saying the prime minister had not used the authority of his office to clearly and forcefully denounce anti-Jewish hatred.

He also pointed to Australia’s gun control laws — enacted after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre during Howard’s tenure — as a key factor in limiting the scale of Sunday’s attack.

“If the automatic and semi-automatic weapons removed under those reforms had still been legally available,” Howard said, “the death toll, gruesome though it was, would have been infinitely bigger.”

The Port Arthur massacre, carried out by gunman Martin Bryant, left 35 people dead and led to sweeping national gun reforms, including a buyback program that removed an estimated 650,000 firearms from circulation.

Sunday’s Bondi Beach attack killed 15 people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration and has intensified scrutiny of the government’s response to antisemitism, as well as broader questions about public safety and political leadership.

The Albanese government has said it is committed to combating antisemitism and extremism, while the investigation into the attack remains ongoing.