The Jewish People Policy Institute released an analysis on Wednesday of world leaders’ responses to last Sunday's mass shooting at Bondi Beach, issuing scores for 25 countries based on the clarity and specificity of their statements.
The institute said the model evaluated whether officials explicitly referenced Jews, Hanukkah, antisemitism, or Israel, and whether leaders themselves spoke or left reactions to foreign ministries.
The attack at Bondi Beach, one of the deadliest in modern Australian history, left 15 event-goers dead and dozens wounded, and has drawn global condemnation and calls for policy change in Australia. Authorities have said indications point to ISIS inspiration and have charged suspects as funerals began in Sydney.
How the scoring worked
JPPI researchers Shlomi Bereznik and Eli Kannai said their tool assigned points for direct language, use of key terms, and timeliness. Statements that named antisemitism and acknowledged the Jewish and Hanukkah context received higher scores, while generic condemnations without those references were ranked lower, according to the institute.
The researchers said they reviewed reactions from Western, Asian, Muslim, and Arab countries. Both statements by heads of government and by foreign ministries were included in the dataset.
Who scored highest
According to JPPI, Argentina and Canada topped the list. Argentina’s President Javier Milei was cited for explicitly labeling the attack as antisemitic and linking it to Australia’s recent recognition of a Palestinian state.
Canada also scored highly for language that referred to “antisemitic terror” at a Hanukkah event and for a leader-level statement.
JPPI noted that Milei’s reaction was the only one among those reviewed that mentioned Israel directly. Canada’s high score, the researchers said, reflected consistency with Ottawa’s recent policy moves on Palestinian recognition and its subsequent messaging.
Leaders who refined messages later
New Zealand and the United Kingdom initially issued statements that did not mention Jews, Hanukkah, or antisemitism, JPPI said. Both later sharpened their language and condemned the attack as terrorism targeting Jews.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese drew criticism from some quarters for an initial post that did not use those terms. He later described the shooting as “an act of evil antisemitism” and pledged support to Australia’s Jewish community.
Responses from Muslim and Arab countries were generally handled by foreign ministries rather than leaders and tended to avoid referencing Jews or antisemitism directly, the institute found. That pattern, JPPI said, contrasted with many Western countries that labeled the massacre as antisemitic terror.
The think tank stressed that clear condemnations carry “political, moral, and security” weight for Jewish communities worldwide and send deterrent signals to extremists.
Why the wording matters
“The findings indicate that most leaders in the free world recognized the severity of the attack and acknowledged its antisemitic nature,” JPPI said. “However, the delayed and initially incomplete response by the Australian government, along with the general and non-specific reactions of Muslim and Arab countries, highlights persistent international disparities in addressing antisemitism and terrorism directed against Jews.”
As Australia moves to tighten gun laws and mourns the victims, Jewish leaders have urged governments to speak with clarity about antisemitism when Jews are targeted at religious events.