Yves here. John Helmer, who has considerable expertise in analyzing information management (witness among many examples, the poisoning of the Skripals and the downing of MH17), is looking at the initial narrative stakes being put in the ground for the Bondi mass shooting. Aside from the legal and political question “Was or wasn’t it terrorism?” is the bad look of an ISIS connection, given that America’s new bestie in Syria is former ISIS leader and now president Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who had rebranded himself under his birth name, Ahhmed Hussein al-Sharaa. Helmer also points out that Muslims in Australia greatly outnumber typically secular Jews, but have been generally disenfranchised, particularly with respect to Palestine’s interests.
Helmer is looking at how official stories, meant above all for home audiences, are being cooked. But there are also amateur efforts. See for instance:
Fake AI image used to claim Bondi Beach shooting was staged BBC
Bondi Beach ‘hero’ misinformation first published by fake news website BBC
Professor Mohammed Marandi described long form, at the top of a recent interview at Dialogue Works, that Salafis and Wahhabis like ISIS hate Iran, so the idea that Iran had anything to do with these killings is a fabrication.
By John Helmer, the longest continuously serving foreign correspondent in Russia, and the only western journalist to direct his own bureau independent of single national or commercial ties. Helmer has also been a professor of political science, and an advisor to government heads in Greece, the United States, and Asia. He is the first and only member of a US presidential administration (Jimmy Carter) to establish himself in Russia. Originally published at Dances with Bears
There’s a line in Shooting the Past, a 2004 film by the London filmmaker Stephen Poliakoff, in which the leading character, who runs a large historical photo archive, asks whether it is possible for a photograph to capture a lie coming out of the mouth of a liar. The character isn’t sure.
He hadn’t studied the neuropsychology of interrogation researched by William Marston, inventor of the polygraph, and Paul Ekman, the psychologist of facial expressions whose methods were dramatised in the US television series, Lie to Me. Those two claimed lies can be detected by mechanical or electronic records.
In politics and war, lying is a weapon and so it is heavily camouflaged. It can defeat the truth by techniques that prevent evidence and the courtroom standards for reasoning and judgement from controlling the narrative. The Bondi Beach attack on December 14, in Sydney, Australia, is an example. Listen to the hour-long podcast with Nima Alkhorshid to understand what has happened.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jRTZLLve8o
The evidence
In a press conference on Monday (December 15) with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, the state police commissioner Mal Lanyon reported that in the gun attack of the day before, 16 people had been killed, 42 wounded. He said he had “determined that it was a terrorist activity and made a declaration as such at 9.36pm. As a result of that declaration, we commenced Operation Arques, which is a joint counterterrorism operation.”
The attackers had acted alone, the police official said. When asked for evidence of motive, ideology, associations, notes, or other evidence of terrorism, Lanyon refused to say. “As a result of investigations undertaken, I can say that we are not looking for a further offender. We are satisfied that there were two offenders involved in yesterday’s incident. One is deceased, the second is in critical but stable condition in hospital at the moment. The offenders are a 50-year-old and 24-year-old male who are father and son…The 50-year-old male is a licenced firearms holder. He has six firearms licenced to him.”
The father has been officially named as Sajid Akram; he was shot dead by police during the attack. His son, Naveed Akram, was wounded and has survived in hospital.
According to Prime Minister Albanese, “what we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location, Bondi Beach.”
Premier Minns said: “There is no tolerance for racism or Jewish hatred in New South Wales or Australia. And we need to be clear and unambiguous that we will fight it everywhere we see it, whether it’s destructive, horrible acts of violence or chance mottos and internet posts on the internet. Wherever it is, we need to fight antisemitism.”
Lanyon was asked what evidence the police had gathered for any of the conclusions the politicians were making.
“There are reports a black ISIS-style flag was draped over the gunmen’s car,” a reporter asked. “Are police aware of this? Has a flag been recovered?
Source: https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/two-heroes-slain-trying-to-disarm-gunman/news-story/b080b58c76c615f1592f7a524109db89
“COMMISSIONER LANYON: That’s all part of the investigation. As I just said before, I’d rather not comment on that right at the moment. Obviously, we will look at the motives behind this attack and I think that’s really important as part of the investigation. Our investigation will be thorough and we will be happy to provide further information.” “Is there anything you can tell us about ideology? COMMISSIONER LANYON: At this stage, no, I won’t comment on that. We’ll continue to work through that. That is part of the investigation, to understand the motives behind it.” “Did they leave any manifesto or notes? COMMISSIONER LANYON: Again, that is part of the investigation. I don’t want to go into that this morning. We’ve got investigators that have been working around the clock. I’m incredibly proud of the work that has been undertaken so far. We want to get to the bottom of this. We want to understand the motives behind it and we certainly want to understand the actions that have happened. I cannot give a running commentary on the investigation. I want to give the investigators time to work through this properly.”
The Australian state media had reported earlier on Monday that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) “had examined one of the Bondi Beach gunmen six years ago over his close ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State (IS) terrorism cell… Investigators from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT), a unit comprised of state and federal agencies, believe the gunmen had pledged allegiance to the IS terrorist group. Two IS flags were found in their car at Bondi Beach, according to senior officials speaking on condition of anonymity. One flag could be seen in footage from the scene on the bonnet of the car. A senior JCTT official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ASIO took an interest in Naveed Akram six years ago after police foiled plans for an IS terrorist attack.”
Police Commissioner Lanyon refused to confirm the 2019 evidence or its interpretation of a link between the two Akrams and an international terrorist organisation on the Australian government list. “Was there any indication that the shooters were known to any service ahead of time? COMMISSIONER LANYON: There was no indication to indicate that either of the men involved in yesterday’s attack was planning the attack that happened yesterday.”
The Australian and Philippines border agencies have confirmed that last month Sajid Akram had visited Manila with an Indian passport, and that his son Naveed was accompanying him on an Australian passport. They spent most of November, these sources said, in Mindanao.
Photographs of Sajid Akram (left) and Naveed Akram (right) from the attack scene on December 14. Sajid was university-educated; his occupation in Sydney has not been reported. Naveed was a bricklayer by trade.
The Indian police, who monitor anti-state terrorist organisations closely, have confirmed that Sajid Akram was “originally from Hyderabad, migrated to Australia in November 1998 in search of employment. He completed his B. Com degree in Hyderabad before moving abroad. He later married a woman of European [Italian] origin and settled permanently in Australia. The couple has two children, Naveed and a daughter, both born in Australia, and holding Australian citizenship. The police quoted his relatives in India as saying that Sajid Akram maintained limited contact with his family over the past 27 years and visited India only six times, mainly for family-related matters such as property issues or to see his elderly parents. He was not in India even at the time of his father’s demise. Reports indicate that they were inspired by ISIS ideology. The family members expressed no knowledge of his radical mind set or activities, nor circumstances that led to his radicalisation. The police clarified that there is no connection between the radicalisation of the father-son duo in India or Telangana, and that Sajid Akram had no adverse record with Telangana Police prior to his migration.”
The law
Both federal and state laws define terrorism in Australia. In New South Wales (NSW) the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002, Section 3, says a “terrorist act means an action where—“(b) the action is done with the intention of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause, and (c) the action is done with the intention of– (i) coercing, or influencing by intimidation, the government of the Commonwealth or a State, Territory or foreign country, or of part of a State, Territory or foreign country, or (ii) intimidating the public or a section of the public.”
Murder, including mass murder, isn’t terrorism according to this law. Nor is “advocacy, protest, dissent or industrial action, and is not intended–(i) to cause serious harm that is physical harm to a person, or (ii) to cause a person’s death, or (iii) to endanger the life of a person, other than the person taking the action, or (iv) to create a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a section of the public.”
Federal Australia law applies this statutory definition of terrorism to a scheme for compensating Australians who are the victims of terrorism outside the country. This scheme is known as the Australian Victim of Terrorism Overseas Payment (AVTOP). Since 2001, a total of 50 terrorism incidents have been designated officially, but no total sum of the money paid out has been reported to parliament or published. The AVTOP terrorist designation is a political decision by the prime minister; there has been no public discussion or parliamentary vote to authorize the prime minister. For example, the deaths of 38 Australians on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014 were not designated a terrorism action because the Australian government believed they resulted from civil war or interstate war conditions. Click to read more.
By contrast, in October 2023 Prime Minister Albanese designated the Hamas offensive against Israel a terrorist action, following a lobbying campaign by the Jewish community in Australia.
In April 2024, the Canberra government announced that an Arab Australian had been killed by Israeli action in Gaza. The foreign minister’s statement said: “The death of any aid worker is outrageous and unacceptable. Throughout this conflict, Australia has called for restraint, for the protection of civilians and safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance. The Australian Government condemns this strike. The Government has made representations to the Netanyahu Government and seeks a thorough and expeditious review.”
Terrorism applied to Hamas was not applied to Israel.
Source: https://www.transparency.gov.au/publications/services-australia/services-australia/services-australia-annual-report-2018-19/part-8%3A-services-for-people-needing-other-support/8.2-current-events For the statute authorising the exercise of political discretion by the prime minister to decide between “terrorism”, “murder”, and “war”, click. A “legislative instrument”, according to these statutes, can be no more than an order or determination signed by the official; the text may be classified secret.
The political narrative
President Donald Trump did not call the Bondi incident a terrorist action. He did say it was antisemitic, but unlike Albanese’s statement, Trump appeared to distinguish between terrorism and antisemitism. He also put the Australian incident into international context by mentioning attacks in the US and in Syria.
“Hello, everybody,” Trump began a Christmas reception at the White House on December 14. “This is so great. And, uh, before we begin, however, I want to just pay my respects to the people. Unfortunately, two are no longer with us. Brown University, nine injured. And, uh, two are looking down on us right now from heaven. And, uh, likewise in Australia, as you know, that was a terrible attack. 11 dead, 29, badly wounded. And that was an anti-Semitic attack, obviously. And it, uh, I just want to pay my respects to everybody. I must say in, uh, Syria also. We had, uh, an attack in Syria and we had, uh, three great patriots terminated by bad people and not the Syrian government. It was ISIS. Syrian government fought by our side. The new president fought by our side. But, uh, I just want to pay my respects to the families. We also had three, uh, injured, but, uh, two of them are already out of the hospital and one’s, uh, going to be okay. But we lost three. So it was a rough, it was a rough day. But to Australia and, uh, the Prime Minister, to everybody that we know so well, we get along with so well. We have a great relationship. That’s a terrible situation going on over there. Think of that. And, uh, Brown University, great school. Great s- — great, really one of the greatest schools anywhere in the world. Things can happen. So, uh, to the nine injured, get well fast. And to the families of those two that are no longer with us. I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States of America.
Israeli government statements claimed that Australian government recognition of the Palestinian state and countrywide protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza were antisemitic incitement to the Bondi violence. Speaking in a video broadcast, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “On August 17, about four months ago, I sent Prime Minister Albanese of Australia a letter in which I gave him warning that the Australian government’s policy was promoting and encouraging antisemitism in Australia. Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire. It rewards Hamas terrorists. It emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew hatred now stalking your streets. Antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent; it retreats when leaders act. I call upon you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve. Instead, Prime Minister, you replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement. Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia. You did nothing to curb the cancer cells that were growing inside your country. You took no action. You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today.”
Left, text of Netanyahu letter to Albanese, August 17, 2025.
Centre, Netanyahu speaking at Dimona, December 14, 2025. Right, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, said in a tweet: “Anti-Semitic terrorism knows no borders – but the blood of those murdered at the hands of the Australian government, which announced recognition of a ‘Palestinian’ state and legitimized terrorism against Jews. I strengthen the Chabad emissaries, who continue to act with dedication, courage, and a true mission, even in the face of threats and terrorism – to spread light. Precisely now, let us multiply light, stand tall, and prove: the Jewish light is stronger than the darkness, and its victory is inevitable.”
The official Russian Government response was issued on Monday at about the same time as the Australian prime minister’s press conference in Sydney.
“It was with deep sorrow that the news of the terrorist attack in Sydney during the celebration of Hanukkah in the Bondi Beach area was perceived. We strongly condemn the barbaric extremist attack, which resulted in 15 innocent civilians, including a ten-year-old girl, were killed, dozens were injured. As it became known, among the victims of the terrorist attack, unfortunately, there are our compatriots who are permanently residing in Australia. We are invariably in favour of the uncompromising fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We call for the joint efforts of all countries of the world to jointly rebuff this barbarism. We express our deep sympathy and sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims, wish a speedy recovery to all the victims of this terrible crime.”
Zakharova’s reference to the Chabad Lubavitcher organisation as “our compatriots” appears to ignore the anti-Russian, anti-Soviet and anti-Christian history of the Chabad movement; its engagement on the Ukrainian side in the current war; and the role that the Chabad financier, Igor Kolomoisky, has played in the Azov military operations in the Donbass.
Top: left, the logo of the Chabad-Lubavitcher organisation shows breaking the chains of Russia; right, Kolomoisky at the opening of the Chabad Menorah Centre in Dniepropetrovsk in 2012. Bottom: Vladimir Zelensky’s meeting with thirty Chabad rabbis in Kiev, September 2023.
The New Orleans Truck Attack of January 2025
On January 1, 2025, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a former US Army sergeant who had converted to Islam, rammed his truck into pedestrians, killing 14 and injuring 57. Two of the injured were Israelis. The FBI ruled there was no foreign terrorist association, ideology, or organizational link, although a black Isis flag was attached to the rear of Jabbar’s truck.
The Israeli Foreign Minister at the time, Gideon Saar, tweeted: “Deeply saddened by the terrorist attack in New Orleans. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the victims. Wishing a swift recovery to the two injured Israeli citizens and all the wounded… Terror has no place in our world.”
The political context in Australia
The Jewish population of Australia is estimated in recent censuses to be about 117,000 but with the decline in overall numbers has come a significant disaffiliation from Jewish religion and from identification with Israel. The Chabad-Lubavitcher movement aims to reverse this trend and proselytise for greater religious observance and Israeli identity.
The census evidence is not only that Australian Jews are primarily located in Melbourne (Victoria) and Sydney (NSW), but that within these two cities, they are concentrated in a handful of suburbs. The Bondi Beach area, for example, has been home to about one-quarter of Sydney’s Jews.
The Muslim population of Australia is roughly ten times the Jewish population, numbering almost 1 million, growing rapidly, and with a median age under 35, significantly younger than the Jews, whose median age is 44. As with the Jews, the Muslims are concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne, and within these cities, they comprise unusually tight communities.
Source: https://www.unisa.edu.au/contentassets/4f85e84d01014997a99bb4f89ba32488/australian-muslims-final-report-web-nov-26.pdf
The political implications are obvious: the growing Muslim vote is coming from the young in families who have sought refuge in Australia from wars in their homelands which were waged by the US, Israel, and their allies, including the Australian military. In ten Victorian and NSW electorates, for example, the Muslim vote is so high, ranging from more than 10% to almost 40%, that it can swing election results decisively. By comparison, Jewish voter concentration is marginal in all but four Sydney and Melbourne electorates; in these, the Jewish percentage ranges from less than 6% to 16.2%.
Source: https://www.unisa.edu.au/contentassets/4f85e84d01014997a99bb4f89ba32488/australian-muslims-final-report-web-nov-26.pdf
For the time being, the Muslim Australians find themselves disenfranchised at election time at the same time as they are compelled by government policy to pay for Australian’s military alliance with Israel and the US. They also believe there is excessive Jewish influence in the Australian media resulting in anti-Muslim ideology and Islamophobia dominating public debate.
This is race hate — and there is reportedly much more of it in Australia than what Israel, the Jewish diaspora, and local politicians are calling antisemitism. This is the documented finding of research sampling of the mainstream and social media and published in February 2024.
Source: https://lens.monash.edu/australian-medias-instagram-posts-on-gaza-war-have-an-anti-palestine-bias-that-has-real-world-consequences/ Parallel research has documented the bias of similar pro-Jewish, anti-Muslim ideology in the US and Canadian media.
