Jewish legal charity calls on Bondi victims to join class action
JCLJ chief executive Alessandra Steele: 'We intend to leave no stone unturned in exposing the failures that led to this tragedy'
The Jewish Centre for Law and Justice is calling on victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack to come forward as it prepares a potential class action to hold all parties responsible for the massacre to account.
JCLJ chief executive Alessandra Steele said the organisation was committed to harnessing the law to combat antisemitism and drive systemic change.
“A convergence of hate and systemic failures created a perfect storm that culminated in this vile attack, and we intend to leave no stone unturned in exposing the failures that led to this tragedy,” Steele said.
The far-reaching legal action is being considered against the federal government, agencies such as ASIO and the Australian Federal Police, NSW Police, hate preachers and social media giants that publish their abhorrent speech, the Herald Sun reported.
A key issue will be how the father accused of the attack was able to get a gun licence and purchase six powerful longarms despite his son being on ASIO’s counter-terrorism “management” list and being flagged as associating with extremists with NSW Police, according to the Herald Sun.
Steele said the charity would be seeking information about failures in any department that may have led to the bloodshed.
“As this attack shows, antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem. It is a destructive, insidious social disease that undermines Australian values and all Australians’ sense of safety and security,” Steele told the Herald Sun.
“Our community has been warning anyone who will listen about what happens when you permit hateful mobs to take over, and worse, reward them. Hatred is a sickness and the government should have been signalling to the public about what is acceptable and what is not. Otherwise you end up with this permissive culture, which our community knows is a slippery slope.”
Steele said while not all facts were yet known, identifying the parties who may be held responsible would become clearer with time and thorough investigation.
“Everyone affected by this attack, whether Jewish or not, has been a victim of antisemitism and deserves justice,” she said.
JCLJ is offering to arrange legal support to anyone impacted by the attack and seeking information about failures that may have led to it.
“JCLJ’s mission is to create systemic change, which is clearly needed after two years of ineffective and insufficient measures by authorities and government against rising antisemitism,” Steele said.
“We will work to ensure all parties responsible are held to account, from those who published and promoted hate speech, to those responsible for radicalising the terrorists, those who failed to take action against them sooner, to those who permitted them to be armed with lethal weapons.”
The charity, backed by prominent philanthropists in the Jewish community, was set up after the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel by Hamas.
Steele said the support of terror by parts of the community and the failure to address it by government had shocked the Jewish community.
“That was the worst Jewish loss of life since the Holocaust, but that’s when antisemitism escalated. We couldn’t believe it. It was a betrayal,” she said.
Steele said hundreds of Jewish people had been doxxed with no-one charged, antisemitic violence had no serious consequences and people waving terror flags and chanting about killing Jews went unpunished.
JCLJ is directing anyone affected who needs assistance to its website at jclj.org.
comments