CSG warned of heightened Bondi attack risk weeks before massacre
CSG NSW told police the Chanukah by the Sea event at Bondi Beach on December 14 carried a high risk
Jewish security warned of a heightened risk of violent antisemitism during Chanukah by the Sea just weeks before the December 14 Bondi Beach terror attack, according to a leaked document.
The confidential document produced by the Community Security Group (CSG) NSW, seen by the ABC, raised the alarm about the threat of Islamic extremism and jihadist-inspired lone-actor attacks.
CSG NSW told police the Chanukah by the Sea event at Bondi Beach on December 14 carried a high risk, according to two sources with knowledge of security arrangements and unauthorised to speak publicly, the ABC reported.
The group asked that more officers be stationed at the event for its duration.
The document dated November 26 stated that the risk of violent extremism was elevated due to the expected visibility of Jews in public and the prominence of the festival, according to the ABC.
“Hostile actors have historically targeted Jewish and Israeli interests in retaliation for developments in the ongoing Middle East conflict and to intimidate local entities perceived as affiliated with Israel,” the document stated.
Referencing ASIO’s 2025 Annual Threat Assessment, the document highlighted the risk of “lone-actor attacks inspired by global jihadist propaganda”, the ABC reported.
“While Islamic State and al-Qaeda have lost territorial control, their ideology persists and resonates with individuals online,” the document stated.
The document singled out “Sunni violent extremism” as the greatest religiously motivated threat to Australia, according to the ABC. The Akrams placed Islamic State flags on their car’s front and rear windscreens, according to a police statement of alleged facts released last Monday. Naveed Akram’s phone contained videos showing the pair adhered to a religiously motivated violent extremism ideology, according to the alleged facts.
NSW Police would not confirm or deny receiving the document, citing the ongoing critical incident investigation, criminal investigation and upcoming inquest.
There are varying reports on how many police officers were at the scene when father-son gunmen Naveed and Sajid Akram opened fire on festival-goers, but premier Chris Minns told The Australian that at least three officers were at the park.
A spokesperson for police minister Yasmin Catley said she was unaware of the CSG document or any warning given by the group to police, according to the ABC.
Meanwhile, firefighting trucks equipped with state-of-the-art medical appliances and stationed just minutes from the scene did not attend the Bondi terror attack in the immediate aftermath because Fire and Rescue NSW was not asked, sources within the organisation told The Daily Telegraph.
The Daily Telegraph reported members of the North Bondi Fire Station, situated 1.2 kilometres from the scene, did not respond to the emergency after being told by superiors they had not been asked to attend. One also rang a union representative to clarify their position if they did not go, according to the Daily Telegraph.
“What is frustrating many in the fire brigade community is that those trucks have defibrillators, Israeli bandages which are used in mass trauma situations, as well as full medical kits,” an industry source told the Telegraph.
“Fire officers are medically trained to treat mass casualties, which occurred, and why they were not there is astounding. There are ambulances and police responding from all over the city but not a fire brigade from either Bondi or Bondi Junction. Why they were not is a question which should be asked.”
In a statement on Sunday, a Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said the organisation provided “senior command and liaison staff to the Bondi Command Point and supplied specialist resources in support of NSW Police, including HAZMAT response and RPAS capabilities, as requested”.
“NSW Ambulance led the medical response,” the spokesperson said.
Protocol dictates that during incidents involving terrorism or an active armed offender, NSW Police is the combat agency and controls the scene. Once the immediate threat was neutralised, the incident was managed as a mass casualty event, led by NSW Ambulance.
Neither NSW Police, NSW Ambulance nor Fire and Rescue NSW would directly answer questions about when any FRNSW personnel arrived on scene, who requested their attendance, or when any request was made, according to the Daily Telegraph.
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said the organisation had “delivered a timely and significant response to the Bondi Beach incident”.
NSW Police said it would not comment on when Fire and Rescue NSW was deployed because it was part of a critical incident in which all aspects of emergency services’ response would be reviewed.
The Bondi Beach terror attack on December 14 killed 15 people during a Chanukah celebration.
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