No other form of racial prejudice would have been allowed to fester and ferment in this way. But too many in Australia turned a blind eye to the anti-Semitism staring us in the face, writes Dave Sharma.

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On Sunday evening, around 6:45pm, Australians were alerted to breaking news of a security incident at Bondi.

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What transpired was the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil in our nation’s history.

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The Hanukkah by the Sea event is one I know well. I have attended on many occasions, at times given the honour of lighting one of the candles of the Hanukkiah, the special menorah for the occasion.

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The local Bondi rabbi who arranges Hanukkah by the Sea, Eli Schlanger, was a personal friend.

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Eli was slain that evening. So were many others. Fifteen innocents are dead, including a 10-year-old girl, ­Matilda, and an 87-year-old ­Holocaust survivor, Alex Kleytman.

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This was a barbaric, vicious, appalling and grotesque act of terrorist violence directed at Sydney’s Jewish community. But it was also an attack against Australia and its values of pluralism, freedom, respect and tolerance.

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For Australia’s Jewish community, who have been living in a heightened state of fear and anxiety for these past 26 months, this was their worst nightmare come to pass.

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I cannot convey in words the trauma, anguish, outrage and sense of betrayal that our Jewish community is feeling right now. A nation that has ­always proudly provided Jewish Australians a secure home, that championed their achievements and contributions, failed them in the most basic obligation to provide safety.

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But, as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism stated, this attack did not come without warning.

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Community leaders, security agencies and politicians have been sounding the alarm bell for months about the unchecked rise of anti-Semitism in Australia, and the potential consequences of failing to combat it.

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No other form of racial prejudice would have been allowed to fester and ferment in this way.

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But too many in Australia, including a large chunk of our institutions, turned a blind eye to the stark reality of anti-Semitism staring us in the face.

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Too often, instigators were given a pass, had their behaviour explained or “contextualised” away.

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Too often, senior federal Labor government ministers demonised Israel’s conduct in inflammatory terms, dog-whistling to a domestic audience, reckless as to the license it was providing to extreme ­elements in Australia.

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Too often, anti-Semitism was grouped in with other forms of racial prejudice, in a masterclass of “whataboutism”, rather than being confronted on its own terms as a crisis.

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Too often, Anthony Albanese made big promises about combating anti-Semitism, but took no substantive steps to fulfil this. The toleration of anti-Semitism – of the demonisation, vilification, harassment and intimidation of one particular Australian community – allowed it to become embedded and normalised.

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Throughout, the Labor government has been dragged reluctantly into action, reacting to events and playing catch-up, rather than seeking to lead.

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Serious questions must be asked and answered, and any shortcomings exposed, by a body ­exercising independence and at arms-length from government. For governments, ensuring that such a terrorist attack can never happen again in Australia must be their overriding priority.

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All options must be on the table to achieve this objective. Gun reforms may address capability, but not intent. The broader pathology of anti-Semitism cannot be ignored – including those institutions and individuals in Australia that nurture it.

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There can be no more equivocation, lip-service or half-measures. At stake is not only the security of our people: it is the very identity of our nation.