Former Hamas hostage warned Australian leaders about rising antisemitism before Bondi Beach attack

SYDNEY — A former Hamas hostage who spent 491 days in Gaza says he warned Australian leaders months before the Bondi Beach mass shooting that antisemitism was rising and could culminate in violence on Australian streets. In June, while in Australia, Eli Sharabi met with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong and pressed officials to acknowledge the threat of antisemitism, according to interviews with Fox News Digital.

Sharabi recalled telling the officials that a hate crime would take place in Australia and that he would 'see the fears' of Jewish people walking on the streets, urging them to speak out against antisemitism before it was too late.

He said he did not know why he told them that at the time, describing the encounter as a moment driven by concern for Jewish communities abroad. 'Unfortunately, it happened. And that’s crazy, it’s crazy. Really, I’m so sorry for that,' Sharabi said in remarks to Fox News Digital. The interview also underscores the toll of antisemitism that he says persisted long before the Bondi Beach attack and continues to shape his work advocating for hostages and Jewish community safety.

A Wong spokesperson said Wong has consistently condemned antisemitism and antisemitic attacks. In response to the Bondi attack, the spokesperson said Australia is strengthening laws against those who spread antisemitism and online abuse, ensuring the education system properly responds to antisemitism, and lowering the threshold to cancel visas for people who come to Australia to spread antisemitism. The spokesperson also conveyed Wong’s sympathies to the families of the Bondi victims.

The Bondi Beach assault, carried out during a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney’s Bondi Beach area, left at least 15 people dead and dozens wounded. The attack has been described as one of the deadliest antisemitic incidents in Australia in recent memory and has drawn international scrutiny over rising antisemitism and threats against Jewish communities abroad.

Sharabi, who was released on Feb. 8, 2025, after 491 days in Hamas captivity, has since traveled the world speaking to Jewish communities and world leaders about his experience. He published a book, Hostage, detailing his time in Gaza, and has used his platform to advocate for the release of all hostages, including his friend Alon Ohel, with whom he formed a close bond in captivity. 'First of all, I’m alive. Second, I’m free, and I’ve learned that freedom is priceless,' Sharabi told Fox News Digital. 'Every morning I wake up, I say thank you very much for what I have and for my freedom, and I can be able to choose whatever I do that day and not to ask permission from anyone to eat or drink or speak.'

The author said that while in captivity he promised himself his family would move to London for safety, but those plans have shifted. He said Be’eri, the kibbutz where he was held, cannot be his home again, and he is pursuing a fresh start somewhere a bit farther north in central Israel as he continues his healing journey.

The interview and Sharabi’s reflections come as Australian officials articulate a policy path in the wake of the Bondi attack, aiming to curb antisemitism and protect Jewish communities both online and offline. Fox News Digital reached out to Marles’s office for comment.