As Bondi Beach attack unfolded, Hasbara machine wasted no time

In the aftermath of the deadly attack that shook the city of Sydney, large sections of Western media rushed to publish articles and analyses before investigations were even completed, or facts and motives had become clear. Within hours, some outlets promoted the narrative that directly linked the crime to Palestine solidarity campaigns.

This hasty linkage, lacking credible evidence, falls within a broader process of disinformation, in which isolated acts of violence are instrumentalized to serve a pro-Israel narrative. For years, this tool has been used to subsume opposition to Zionism and protest against Israeli policies, under the guise of “fighting antisemitism.” Indeed, it has sought to criminalise Palestinians, Muslims, and all those who stand in solidarity with them.

One of the most prominent examples is a piece that was published by The New York Times just hours following the attack, entitled: Bondi Beach Is What ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Looks Like. Written by Bret Stephens, who is known for his consistent defence of Israel, the article claims that the attack was a direct manifestation of the slogan ‘globalize the intifada,’ which is chanted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators around the world. He goes so far as to assert that the perpetrator “enacted the slogan with Jewish blood.”

The danger of this argument lies not only in its clear political bias, but also in its timing and context: an accusatory article published in the immediate aftermath of a massacre, at a critical moment when public opinion is still forming, placing blame on a global popular movement involving millions of people protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The speed with which Stephens — the former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post —produced the piece, and the rapidity with which the NYT edited and published it with such accusatory content, is striking and deeply troubling.

This pattern was repeated by The Atlantic, which published an article titled “The Intifada Comes to Bondi Beach” by David Frum, one of the most prominent defenders of Israel’s settlement project and a former speechwriter for US President George W. Bush.

Frum even defines the slogan ‘globalize the intifada’ as a direct call to shoot or bomb civilians in major Western cities. He places indirect blame for the massacre on “well-meaning Western liberals,” arguing that their cultural sensitivity enabled such violence. In this framing, good faith and solidarity with an occupied people are transformed into moral crimes—simply because these positions increasingly expose the colonial and violent nature of the Israeli state.

This discourse has not, however, been confined to conservative or traditionally liberal outlets. It also appeared in The Guardian, often associated with the centre-left, which on the same day published an analysis by Jason Burke, a regular contributor to the historically pro-Israel Jewish Chronicle. Burke relied on data from Jewish organisations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to highlight a global rise in antisemitism, without clearly distinguishing between attacks rooted in hatred of Jews as Jews, and protests or political speech critical of Israel and Zionism.

 

 

 

 

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His conflation, now widespread, ignores an ongoing debate within Jewish communities themselves about the definition of antisemitism and its instrumentalization to silence political criticism. 

Ironically, credible journalistic investigations—including reports by Jewish Currents—have questioned the accuracy of ADL data, showing that a significant proportion of incidents classified as antisemitic, are in fact related to criticism of Israel or Zionism. And, The Guardian itself previously reported that current and former ADL staff expressed concern that the organisation’s pro-Israel bias undermines its core mission of combating far-right extremism.

The organisation Jewish Voice for Peace has also cast doubt on the ADL’s credibility.

Meanwhile, these analyses overlook a fundamental reality: Jews around the world are a central and visible part of the solidarity movement with Palestine, particularly in Western countries. In London alone, Jewish communities and groups have participated in dozens of major national demonstrations for Gaza over the past two years.

This is also the case in cities across the US, France, the Netherlands and others, where Jewish people have also been a crucial part of student encampments calling for academic boycotts of Israel.

Nevertheless, this reality is rarely highlighted in Western media, especially when compared to the extensive space given to Jewish voices aligned with Israeli state narratives.

Delegitimising state recognition

Former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer, who was among the key voices platformed following the attack, echoed the same problematic narrative. Conservative outlets The Times and The Telegraph, both published his articles linking the Sydney attack to ‘globalize the intifada,’ describing it as a call for the extermination of Jews. In doing so, Downer ignored the historical and political meaning of intifada as a popular uprising against occupation, which began in 1987 in the context of largely peaceful resistance that was met with brutal repression by Israeli forces.

The former minister also resorted to conspiratorial rhetoric, alleging Chinese and Russian funding for anti-Israel movements, while disregarding the fact that the shift in Western public opinion is driven primarily by Israel’s own actions. The daily killing in Gaza and the perpetration of the largest massacre of children in modern history has forced many to open their eyes.

Additionally, The Spectator, known for its permissive stance toward Israeli military practices that violate international law, also published several articles framing the attack as a product of a rise in antisemitic incidents since 7 October 2023. They too platformed the view that the shooting was a consequence of ‘globalize the intifada’.

It is also worth noting that ‘globalize the intifada’ is not even a central slogan for pro-Palestinian demonstrations. It is more commonly used by some groups who believe in confronting Israel’s actions against Palestinians on an international level, and in refusing silence in the face of human rights violations, breaches of international law, and genocide in Palestine.

Ultimately, this coverage reveals a recurring media pattern—a coordinated chorus among commentators who oppose recognition of a Palestinian state: exploiting collective trauma to demonise a broad political movement, holding it responsible for isolated acts of extremism that have no connection to Palestine or the just Palestinian cause (as seen previously after the attack on a synagogue in Manchester), while absolving the organised violence carried out by the occupying state or by settler groups of any designation as terrorism.

 

 

 

 

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Equating individuals who sympathise with the ideology of ISIS (a group that has never carried out an attack against Israel) with the Palestine solidarity movement and ‘globalising the intifada’ is blatant Israeli propaganda. This approach neither serves the truth nor honours the victims of Bondi Beach. Instead, it transforms legitimate debate about Palestinian rights into a moral and political indictment at a time when global demands for accountability and justice are growing, and the public opinion towards Israel in many Western countries is shifting.

And the narrative is clearly already having a serious impact on political freedoms and free speech, with police in London and Manchester announcing that they will arrest any protestor who says or holds up a placard with the words ‘globalize the intifada’.

Notably, the positions of many of the analysts whose articles dominated Western media coverage in the immediate aftermath, align closely with the political line of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu blamed Australian authorities and linked the massacre to Australia’s recognition of the State of Palestine—a claim rejected by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as “baseless and dangerous.”

How can we believe those who use the innocent victims of the Bondi Beach attack to defend those who commit daily crimes against tens of thousands of Palestinians?

Rabeea Eid is a Palestinian journalist, writer and filmmaker who lives in the UK. His work focuses on activism, culture, and movements for political and social change.

Have questions or comments? Email us at: editorial-english@newarab.com

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.