Former Australian intelligence chief Dennis Richardson has criticised the media’s coverage of antisemitic incidents following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, saying a failure to address them publicly weakened the response to extremism.
Speaking at a Lowy Institute media award event, Mr Richardson said some decisions not to report antisemitic preaching may have been well-intentioned but were ultimately misguided. He said Australia had “dropped the ball” and failed to draw a clear line after October 7, adding that a stronger and more consistent response could have established a different public standard.
Mr Richardson said he was not suggesting a direct link between the media’s coverage and the Bondi terrorist attack, saying the causes of that incident were more complex. According to ABC News, the attack at a Hanukkah event in December last year killed 15 people, while father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram were identified as the perpetrators.
He said antisemitic incidents had sometimes received limited attention because of concerns that reporting them could inflame social tensions. As an example, he cited remarks made by an Islamic preacher in November 2023 that were not widely reported until 2025, when a federal court judge described them as racist, antisemitic, offensive and insulting.
Mr Richardson called for an open and mature discussion about extremist Islamists, but stressed that Australian Muslims should not be treated as a group responsible for extremist views. He said mainstream Muslim leaders should be central to the discussion and warned that avoiding the issue could fuel conspiracy theories, encourage neo-Nazis and allow people to portray Muslims generally as a problem.
He also said the need for Jewish children to have security at schools, sporting events and religious activities was damaging to Australia’s social cohesion. ABC News reported that Mr Richardson resigned in March as a special adviser to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion after an earlier intelligence and policing review was incorporated into the commission.