Zionists condemned in Bondi terror video

Joshua Marks

The father of 10-year-old Matilda, who was killed in the Dec. 14 Bondi Beach shooting attack, lights the eighth candle of a Chanukah menorah during a memorial at Bondi Beach in Sydney for the victims of the attack, Dec. 21, 2025. Photo by Izhar Khan/Getty Images.

Zionists were explicitly condemned in a video filmed by the alleged Bondi Beach gunmen as they outlined their justification for the terrorist attack that killed 15 people at a Chanukah event, newly released Sydney court documents say.

Police said Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, Sajid, recorded themselves reciting a Quran passage, with the footage showing Naveed then speaking in English about their motivations for the “Bondi attack” and denouncing the actions of “Zionists” while seated in front of an Islamic State flag and surrounded by firearms, Australia’s ABC News reported on Monday.

Terrorists threw IEDs at the Chanukah event

The pair are accused of throwing four improvised explosive devices at a Jewish crowd at Archer Park, which failed to detonate, before opening fire from a footbridge on the evening of Dec. 14.

Police said the pair parked their car on Campbell Parade in Bondi Beach at about 6:50 p.m. and then draped Islamic State flags over the front and rear windscreens. They then allegedly carried three firearms, three pipe bombs and a homemade “tennis ball bomb” as they walked toward the footbridge and began shooting at the Chanukah by the Sea gathering.

One IED was found in the car that the gunmen drove from the Sydney suburb of Campsie, where they rented a property.

Naveed Akram faces 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act. He was moved on Monday from a hospital to a correctional facility after a Sydney court lifted an interim suppression order to release a redacted police statement of facts. His father was shot dead by police.

Father and son gunmen conducted firearms training

The accused Bondi gunman and his father also conducted firearms training in the countryside, another video dated to late October shows, with the location suspected to be in New South Wales. “The accused and his father are seen throughout the video firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner,” according to the court documents.

The document also reveals that two males, “believed to be the accused and his father,” were recorded on CCTV on the evening of Dec. 12 surveying the area of Archer Park, exiting their vehicle and walking along the footbridge they would later use as their position for the terrorist attack.

“Police allege that this is evidence of reconnaissance and planning of a terrorist act,” the court documents say.

Albanese receives hostile reception at Bondi vigil

Thousands of mourners gathered on Sunday evening at Bondi Beach to honor the victims one week after the deadliest terrorist incident and second-deadliest mass shooting in Australian history.

NSW Health said on Sunday afternoon that 13 patients remain hospitalized at the Prince of Wales, St George, St Vincent’s, Royal Prince Alfred and Royal North Shore hospitals, including four people in critical but stable condition and nine in stable condition.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered an apology on Monday, saying in Canberra that he is “sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced.”

The Labor Party leader was booed and heckled when he was introduced at Sunday’s vigil for the victims at Bondi Beach, in contrast to NSW Premier Chris Minns and Opposition Leader and local MP Kellie Sloane, who received standing ovations.

Albanese, who has called the Bondi Beach shooting an “antisemitic terrorist attack” and the alleged perpetrators “evil antisemitic terrorists,” continues to face criticism over his government’s approach to the problem of Jew-hatred in Australia.

In August, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu castigated the Australian leader for his failure to confront antisemitism, writing in a letter that his “call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.” Albanese is also facing accusations of avoiding confronting jihadist Islamist violence by deflecting to gun control in the wake of the massacre.

Can the right unite against antisemitic hate?

Jonathan S. Tobin

Will the failure of leading conservatives to disassociate themselves from the increasingly antisemitic former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and even more extreme figures like Candace Owens lead to the movement being hijacked by hate-mongers? That’s the question posed by JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin in the wake of the shocking defense of Carlson by Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts in November.

Roberts walked back his denunciation of those who criticized Carlson’s platforming of Holocaust denial as well as neo-Nazi groyper leader Nick Fuentes as being part of a “venomous coalition.” But questions remain about Heritage’s future with many of those involved with the institution leaving as a result of the controversy. But according to Heritage Vice President Victoria Coates, the think tank remains committed to the fight against Jew-hatred and support for Israel.

Coates, who joins Tobin in this week’s episode of “Think Twice,” credits Roberts for the fact that Heritage has played a leading role on the issue. Its Project Esther helped inspire U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to hold colleges and universities accountable for their toleration and encouragement of Jew-hatred on their campuses. But she acknowledges that Roberts’s initial video expressing solidarity with Carlson was a mistake and that the think tank head understands that, too, and that he is determined for Heritage to continue to work against the spread of Jew-hatred.

As troubling as the growth of hate on the right may be, she says the mass shooting on Dec. 13 of 15 people (another fatality was confirmed on Wednesday, making the total 16) at a Chanukah event on Australia’s Bondi Beach is a reminder that the most potent threat to Jews and the West remains Islamist and leftist terror.

Coates, who, like Roberts, knows Carlson well, says she can’t explain his turn toward antisemitism as well as his bizarre willingness to deny that Islamists are persecuting and murdering Christians in Africa. But she says there’s no denying the growth of antisemitic attitudes among younger conservatives, which she fears has become widespread.

She also says that’s a product of the crisis induced by leftist indoctrination in the schools, in addition to the COVID pandemic, not to mention the misinformation about Israel and the Middle East that is ubiquitous on social media. Coates believes that what happened at Heritage will help to focus minds on the right on the threat from antisemitic extremism.

Listen/Subscribe to weekly episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Watch new episodes every week by subscribing to the JNS YouTube Channel.

Platforma wiertnicza Chevron Offshore lub platforma mieszkalna do wydobywania ropy naftowej i gazu na morzu (Fot. Shutterstock)

Gazowa umowa Izraela z Egiptem. Handel energią da pokój na Bliskim Wschodzie?

Andrzej Kublik

Wciągu 15 lat amerykański koncern Chevron ze swoich złóż u brzegów Izraela sprzeda Egiptowi gaz za 35 mld dol. Po przepychankach z USA premier Izraela Benjamin Netanjahu zatwierdził największy w historii Izraela kontrakt na eksport gazu.

.

To największy w historii Izraela kontrakt na eksport gazu. Jego wartość oszacowano na niemal 35 mld dol., czego ponad połowa (18 mld dol.) w postaci podatków i opłat zasili budżet Izraela.

Pod presją Trumpa

Towarzyszący premierowi Izraela na konferencji prasowej minister energii Eli Cohen zachwalał umowę jako “historyczną chwilę” dla Izraela chociaż zaledwie kilka tygodni wcześniej zablokował ją. Twierdził wtedy, że nie ma pewności, czy Izrael dostanie “uczciwą zapłatę” za swój surowiec, i czy realizacji umowy nie spowoduje zbyt szybkiego wyczerpania izraelskich złóż.

W odpowiedzi na decyzję ministra Cohena wizytę w Izraelu odwołał Chris Wright, sekretarz energii USA. Nic dziwnego, bo w zawarcie gazowej umowy był zaangażowany Donald Trump.

Kontrakt na eksport gazu izraelska spółka koncernu Chevron podpisała z Egiptem jeszcze w sierpniu, kiedy toczyły się jeszcze negocjacje o pokoju w Gazie. W tych negocjacjach prowadzonych pod patronatem USA, Egipt odgrywał rolę kluczowego pośrednika między Izraelem a Hamasem, terrorystyczną organizacją walczącą o niepodległość Palestyńczyków.

Jednocześnie relacje Egiptu z Izraelem pozostawały napięte od czasu ataku Hamasu na Izrael w październiku 2023 r. Według dziennika “Axios” Donald Trump uważał, że korzystny dla Izraela i Egiptu kontrakt gazowy poprawi relacje między tymi państwami.

Bliskowschodni “gaz za pokój”

Handel gazem w przeszłości sprzyjał stabilizacji na Bliskim Wschodzie.

Gdy w 1978 r. prezydent Egiptu Anwar as-Sadat i premier Izraela Menachem Begin podpisali umowę pokojową, jej gospodarczym fundamentem była umową w sprawie dostaw po niskiej cenie egipskiego gazu do Izraela. Umowa ta zyskała nazwę “gaz za pokój”. I przez kilka dekad branża gazowa Izraela rozwijała się dzięki surowcowi z Egiptu.

Sytuacja radykalnie zmieniła się, gdy w 2010 r. amerykańska firma Noble Energy (przejęta potem przez Chevron) odkryła u brzegów Izraela złoże Lewiatan o zasobach szacowanych nawet na 650 mld m3 gazu. Z dnia na dzień przed Izraelem, który do tego czasu był całkowicie zależny od importu gazu, otworzyła się szansa na całkowite pokrycie zapotrzebowania na ten surowiec z rodzimych złóż, a także na zarobek na eksporcie gazu.

Pierwszy kontrakt na eksport gazu Izrael zawarł w 2016 r. z Jordanią i ta umową ułatwiła sfinansowanie eksploatacji złóż Lewiatan, rozpoczęte w grudniu 2019 r. A miesiąc później Izrael podpisał umowę na eksport do Egiptu w ciągu dekady 60 mld m3 gazu. Obecnie ten surowiec zaspokaja 10 do 15 proc. zapotrzebowanie Egiptu.  Podpisana teraz umowa zapewni Egiptowi zwiększenie i przedłużenie dostaw z Izraela.

W przeszłości spekulowano, że Egipt będzie pośredniczyć w eksporcie izraelskiego gazu w postaci skroplonego surowca LNG. Egipt ma zakłady do skraplanie gazu, wykorzystywane dotąd do eksportu LNG wytwarzanego z egipskich złóż. Jednak w ostatnich latach ten biznes skurczył się, bo zapotrzebowanie na gaz w Egipcie rośnie, a tamtejsze złoża wyczerpują się.

Redagowała Patrycja Maciejewicz

The Gaza War: The Lament of the Foreign Journalists and Why Hamas Suddenly Wants Them There

Bassam Tawil

• Since 2007, Hamas had been imposing restrictions on foreign journalists. In 2011, the BBC reported that foreign journalists “must now apply [to Hamas] five days in advance in order to work” in the Gaza Strip.
• According to the report, Hamas asked some foreign journalists to sign forms saying that if they published any items critical of the terror group, then local Palestinian journalists they worked with would be held responsible.
• “The Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza are arresting, abusing, and criminally charging journalists and activists who express peaceful criticism of the authorities. The crackdown directly violates obligations that Palestine recently assumed in ratifying international treaties protecting free speech.” — Human Rights Watch, August 29, 2016.
• The journalists who did visit were not able to see how Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups were transforming the beautiful Gaza Strip into one of the largest bases for Jihad and terrorism in the Middle East.
• Even if they had seen such activities, they would not have filed reports about them, thanks to Hamas’s restrictions and threats.
• The foreign journalists who are presently crying that they want to enter the Gaza Strip will face exactly the same threats, restrictions, and harassment by Hamas. They will be permitted to write only stories that depict the Palestinians as victims of Israel, not of the terrorist group Hamas. They will probably comply, telling themselves that lying-by-omission will at least grant them “access.”
• Journalists who allow themselves to be intimidated by Hamas or any other party will never be able to report with any credibility.

Hamas now wants foreign journalists to come to the Gaza Strip. The terror group needs the journalists to spread its anti-Israel propaganda. Most of the foreign journalists now complaining that Israel is not allowing them into Gaza did not bother to report about nearly 20 years of Hamas crackdowns on their colleagues and human rights activists. Pictured: The late Anas Al-Sharif (R), who commanded a Hamas rocket-launch squad in Gaza while employed as a “journalist” by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV news network, smiles for a selfie with senior Hamas officials, including the late Hamas leader Yahiya Sinwar (2nd from left). Photo by Anas al-Sharif

In Pre-Recorded Message, Rob Reiner Encourages Holocaust Survivors to Be Resilient

Shiryn Ghermezian

Rob Reiner speaking in a pre-recorded message that was shared during the Claims Conference’s International Holocaust Survivors Night 2025. Photo: Screenshot

Famed Jewish Hollywood director Rob Reiner encouraged Holocaust survivors to “be resilient” in a video he recorded before he was killed that was shown for the first time on Thursday as part of The Claims Conference’s 9th annual International Holocaust Survivors Night.

Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead on Sunday at their home in Los Angeles. Their 32-year-old middle son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the stabbing of his parents and is being held without bail. Reiner co-starred in the sitcom “All in the Family” before becoming the famous director behind movies such as “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Spinal Tap: The End Continues,” “Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally…” and “A Few Good Men.”

The Claims Conference, known officially as the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, is a nonprofit organization that, according to its website, seeks to “secure material compensation for Holocaust survivors around the world.”

In his message for the Claims Conference event, Reiner began by talking about his personal connection to the Holocaust. His wife’s mother survived Auschwitz while her extended family was murdered in the Nazi death camp. Reiner’s aunt was also in Auschwitz.

“If ever we needed to be resilient, it’s now,” Reiner said in his message. “We’re living in a time now where what’s happening in our country is scary and reminiscent of what we’ve seen happen in the past, and we just hope that we can all survive this and that we can hold on to our democracy. Let’s be resilient.”

Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the Claims Conference, said Reiner started working with the annual International Holocaust Survivors Night a few years ago. “He understood the importance of remembering the Shoah and honoring Holocaust survivors,” Schneider explained, using the Hebrew term for the Holocaust. “Shoah remembrance was deeply personal to Rob Reiner. Rob and Michele, we will carry on your values of acting with honesty, integrity, knowledge and education.”

The annual virtual event by the Claims Conference celebrates Holocaust survivors around the globe, while also honoring them for their sacrifice and contributions to the world. The special livestream program features a menorah lighting ceremony at the Western Wall in Israel and this year’s virtual event was co-hosted by actor and director Noah Emmerich, whose credits include “The Americans,” “The Truman Show,” and “Beautiful Girls.”

The livestream also paid tribute to Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, who was among the victims murdered on Sunday in the antisemitic attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia.

Seventeen Holocaust survivors from around the world spoke during the Claims Conference event, including survivors from The Netherlands and South Africa, and the theme of this year’s program was resilience. The livestream also featured celebrity guests such as Barbra Streisand, Billy Crystal, Julianna Margulies, Jason Alexander, Tovah Feldshuh, Debra Messing, Mayim Bialik, and Patricia Heaton. There were musical performances from Grammy and Tony Award winner Barry Manilow and the New York-based a cappella singing sensation, Six13. Footage was also shown from a concert and ceremony by Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the Holocaust, to honor Holocaust survivors, with music originally arranged by 105-year-old Auschwitz survivor and conductor László Roth.