FIR affected and mourning the victims of the anti-Semitic attack in Sydney

17. Dezember 2025

On Sunday, two Australians, believed to be supporters of Islamic State (IS), shot and killed at least 15 people who had gathered on Sydney beach for a Hanukkah celebration. Among the victims were a ten-year-old child and a Holocaust survivor. The 50-year-old attacker was shot dead at the scene by police, and his son was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. The two perpetrators appear to have been prepared for this terrorist attack at a training camp for IS supporters in the Philippines. It is remarkable that a refugee from Syria living in Australia intervened courageously, overpowering and disarming one of the perpetrators and thus preventing further bloodshed. We owe him our thanks.
We condemn this bloody act as an anti-Semitic terrorist attack. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.
However, contrary to some loud demands in the media, we also declare that this crime must not be used as a basis for blanket condemnation of Muslim people who have nothing to do with such IS terrorism.