Overview
- The royal commission, established after the December 14, 2025 Bondi Beach massacre, is holding Melbourne hearings this week that focus on the safety of synagogues and Jewish communal sites.
- Australia’s spy agency ASIO has told the commission it believes the December 2024 Adass Israel synagogue firebombing was directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps through a recruited former Australian resident and three people have since been charged in connection with the attack.
- Community witnesses said security costs have surged since October 2023, with the Community Security Group’s budget tripling, volunteers providing more than $9 million of security in 2025 and Sydney’s Central Synagogue spending about $640,000 on security in one year.
- Adass Israel leaders told the inquiry that multiple bids for extra government security funding were rejected before the 2024 firebombing because of red tape and technical incorporation rules, though testimony also noted federal rebuild funding has since been provided.
- The commission will hear from state police, counterterrorism experts and Department of Home Affairs officials as it probes law enforcement preparedness, funding pathways and legal protections that could shape future security support for Jewish Australians.