Gone quiet · last update Aug 26, 2025 / Australia

Australia's wave of antisemitic attacks and its finding that Iran directed some

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

From late 2024 Australia saw a wave of antisemitic attacks, including the arson of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, which authorities treated as terrorism, and a trailer of explosives found near Sydney.[1][2] In August 2025 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australian intelligence had found that Iran directed at least two of the attacks, and Australia cut off diplomatic relations with Iran.[3]

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In August 2025 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australian intelligence had found that Iran directed at least two of the attacks, and Australia cut off diplomatic relations with Iran.[3]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2024-12-02 (UTC): 2%, 4 of 228 tracked outlets (1 left, 2 center, 1 right)Week of 2024-12-09 (UTC): 5%, 10 of 208 tracked outlets (2 left, 8 center, 0 right)Week of 2024-12-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2024-12-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2024-12-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-01-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-01-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-01-20 (UTC): 2%, 4 of 226 tracked outlets (1 left, 2 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-01-27 (UTC): 2%, 5 of 223 tracked outlets (1 left, 3 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-02-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-02-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-02-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-02-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): 3%, 7 of 217 tracked outlets (4 left, 2 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): 14%, 28 of 199 tracked outlets (5 left, 16 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRight

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings.We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 4 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (6 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Aug 25, 2025516728 of 19914%
Jun 30, 20254217 of 2173%
Jan 27, 20251315 of 2232%
Jan 20, 20251214 of 2262%
Dec 9, 202428010 of 2085%
Dec 2, 20241214 of 2282%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Aug 25, 2025 · first reported · Headline from The Conversation US

    Australia says Iran was behind two antisemitic attacks; Iranian ambassador expelled

Background

Masked attackers set the Melbourne synagogue ablaze before dawn on a Friday in December 2024,[1] and the government set up a task force to combat antisemitism.[4] In January 2025 federal police investigated whether overseas actors were paying local criminals to commit antisemitic acts,[5] and authorities said they had foiled a potential "mass casualty" attack.[2] In July an arsonist set fire to the door of another Melbourne synagogue.[6] The Bondi Beach massacre in December 2025 is followed in its own arc.

Supporting stories (6)
  1. Australian police seek three suspects in synagogue blaze
  2. Australian authorities foil possible antisemitic attack after finding trailer packed with explosives
  3. Australia expels Iranian ambassador after spy agency finds Iran directed antisemitic attacks on its soil
  4. Melbourne synagogue attack to be investigated as a terrorist incident
  5. Australia Probes String of Antisemitic Crimes
  6. Congregation flees after arsonist sets fire to an Australian synagogue door

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 6 recorded updates

January 2025

  1. Australian authorities foil possible antisemitic attack after finding trailer packed with explosivesHeadline from KESQ Palm Springs · 5 outlets
  2. Australia Probes String of Antisemitic CrimesHeadline from Time · 6 outlets

December 2024

  1. Melbourne synagogue attack to be investigated as a terrorist incidentHeadline from KEYT Santa Barbara · 12 outlets
  2. Australian police seek three suspects in synagogue blazeHeadline from Al-Monitor · 4 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →