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The Bondi attack has reignited speculation and Islamophobic narratives, while ongoing Israeli violence in Gaza remains largely ignored, writes IQBAL JASSAT.
In the aftermath of the Sydney attack, Willem Els of the Institute of Security Studies wasted no time in raising the spectre of ‘ISIS terrorism’ without presenting any credible evidence.
This type of speculation by so-called ‘terror experts’, without regard for the real-world consequences that often include spikes in anti-Muslim hate crimes, continues to be rewarded with media visibility and a veneer of respectability.
Feeding the public with narratives rooted in Islamophobic assumptions is not analysis; it is propaganda. When facts appear secondary to fiction, such commentary remains conveniently aligned with Israel’s hasbara playbook.
If media platforms are willing to host blatant prejudice framed as ‘analysis’, does this not reflect a disregard for accuracy and ethical responsibility?
More troubling is Els’s apparent silence on Israeli state violence. If two years of relentless slaughter and devastation in Gaza have failed to stir his conscience, the question must be asked: why?
At the same time, we should not ignore the hypocrisy of those exploiting the tragedy in Australia while remaining mute on the mass killing of Palestinians. Jumping on emotionally driven hysteria promoted by Zionist lobbyists to marginalise Palestinian suffering, rooted in decades of Zionist violence, is neither honest nor objective. It is expediency masquerading as analysis.
Our long experience with Islamophobes, particularly those who justify Israeli state terrorism, teaches us to be sceptical of their double standards. The radicalism they denounce is routinely labelled ‘Islamist’, while they simultaneously embrace apartheid Israel and the extremism of Zionist racism underpinning Jewish supremacism. This contradiction exposes their hollow commitment to human rights.
If Els claims to be troubled by imagined security threats dressed in ISIS imagery, surely the documented trail of destruction in Gaza, which includes the involvement of South African mercenaries, presents a far more concrete concern.
Ignoring the recruitment of so-called ‘lone soldiers’ deployed in Benjamin Netanyahu’s army of alleged war criminals cannot be dismissed as oversight. It is hypocrisy, plain and simple.
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South Africa’s legal team, in its submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, outlined what it described as a ‘pattern of genocidal conduct’ by Israel since the launch of its full-scale assault on Gaza, the 365 square kilometre territory occupied since 1967.
‘This killing is nothing short of the destruction of Palestinian life. It is inflicted deliberately. No one is spared, not even newborn babies,’ the court heard.
Advocate Adila Hassim detailed how Israel’s actions subjected Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to unprecedented attacks from air, land, and sea, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians and the destruction of homes and essential infrastructure.
‘Gaza bleeds without pause, its people forced to live in tents amid total destruction, now worsened by rain, while the so-called civilised world stands by, watching and complicit in the crime.’
Jonathan Ofir, the Israeli-born Jewish writer, now based in Copenhagen, has correctly cautioned against the proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding the Bondi attack on the Chabad Hanukkah celebration, including claims that ‘Mossad did it’, ‘Netanyahu did it’, or that the shooter was linked to the Israeli military.
However, Ofir also notes that a strong Israeli connection is not a conspiracy theory, but a documented fact. The main organiser of the event, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was among those killed, had publicly promoted fundraising for the Israeli military, supported illegal Israeli settlements, and acted as an emissary for Israeli causes.
Further questions have emerged following reports that Mossad has taken a role in the investigation of the attack. As author Susan Abulhawa asked on social media: ‘Why is Mossad taking over the investigation of an attack on Australian soil against Australians? Are they afraid Australian authorities will uncover something Israel would like to keep hidden?’
Els should also recall that Netanyahu blamed Australia’s recognition of Palestine for the attack, a claim that further politicised the tragedy.
Selective outrage, distorted analysis, and the erasure of Palestinian suffering will not advance justice or security. They only entrench injustice and deepen mistrust.
IQBAL JASSAT is an executive member of the Media Review Network, Johannesburg.
