ASIO Chief Warns Antisemitism Went Unchecked After Gaza War

Australia’s spy chief Mike Burgess told a Royal Commission hearing on Monday, May 25, 2026, that antisemitism in Australia was left unchecked after the October 2023 outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war and contributed to violence against Jewish people. Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), testified as the commission examined events leading up to the December 2025 Bondi Beach mass shooting.

The attack killed 15 people attending a Jewish Hanukkah celebration.

Burgess said the war in the Middle East triggered strong emotions in Australia and that some violent behavior, including antisemitism, became “normalised” when it was not confronted. He said Jewish Australians were “on the receiving end” of that violence.

He told the inquiry that a spike in antisemitic incidents contributed to ASIO’s decision to raise the national terrorism threat level to “probable” in August 2024.

Threat level raised as incidents escalated

Burgess said antisemitism intensified from late 2024, escalating from threatening and intimidating conduct to “direct targeting of people, businesses and places of worship.” He said incidents in the months before the Bondi attack included vandalism and arson attacks on homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles.

The Royal Commission’s first block of hearings this month focused on the nature and prevalence of antisemitism, including testimony from members of the Jewish community.

ASIO links some attacks to Iran’s IRGC

Burgess said ASIO concluded that Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind two antisemitic attacks: one on a kosher restaurant in Sydney and another on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue. He said that assessment led to the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador in August 2025.

He told the inquiry Iran was probably involved in more attacks, but ASIO could not reach the threshold needed to pinpoint responsibility in additional cases. Burgess said Iran used proxies and agents to target Jewish people around the world.

The commission is expected to continue examining what authorities knew before the Bondi Beach attack and how threat assessments were handled ahead of the December 2025 shootings.