Former Arkansas governor and U.S. ambassador Mike Huckabee strongly criticized Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s response to the deadly Bondi Beach attack, which left at least 12 people dead and many more wounded, while celebrating Hanukkah at a beachfront event on the first night of Hanukkah.
Huckabee called the statement “disgraceful” when the PM failed to explicitly acknowledge the ideological and religious context of the incident. The US Ambassador took to social media to highlight what he described as a “politically correct omission” in Albanese’s comments following the Sydney shooting. He argued that ignoring the antisemitic motive diminishes the seriousness of the attack and hinders public understanding of such threats.
Prime Minister Albanese condemned the violence as an “act of evil” and assured Australians that the government is committed to protecting all communities, particularly the Jewish population, in the wake of the tragedy.
International leaders, including the UN secretary-general and the UK prime minister, have expressed condolences and called for global action against rising antisemitism. Huckabee, however, argued that political leaders must clearly identify and denounce the ideological motives behind such attacks rather than offering vague statements of sympathy. He warned that failure to do so risks enabling further violence and marginalizing the targeted communities.