Antisemitism royal commission LIVE: NSW police chiefs to give evidence on Bondi Beach terror attack

There are just two witnesses scheduled to appear at the royal commission today. They are NSW Police Deputy Commissioner, Investigations and Counter-Terrorism, David Hudson, and Assistant Commissioner, Police Prosecutions and Licensing Enforcement Command, Kirsty Heyward.

As the commission heard yesterday, a taskforce set up to combat antisemitism, share intelligence and patrol high-risk Jewish events was dismantled by NSW Police in the lead-up to the terror attack.

Jewish community leaders said they were not told Operation Shelter had been wound back in 2025 to focus on protests only.

The commission has heard from Jewish security group CSG that police had declined entreaties to permanently station officers at the gathering after their warning of a probable risk of terror attack.

Read the story by Bevan Shields and Perry Duffin below.

The royal commission into antisemitism resumes at 10am today in Sydney. Senior police, including Deputy Commissioner of investigations and counterterrorism, David Hudson, are again expected to give evidence about the lead-up to the terror attack at Chanukah By The Sea, in December, that killed 15 innocent people at Bondi Beach.

If you missed yesterday’s hearing, here’s what emerged:

• Superintendent and commander of Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command Witness “ABQ” (a pseudonym) emailed command inspectors days before the festival, telling them that there was “no need” to stay the entire duration of the Chanukah By The Sea event.
• Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna, commander of the Central Metropolitan Region, appeared and told the commission, “Australia has changed since this horrific terrorist attack”, and changed policing with it.
• Operation Shelter, designed to protect Sydney’s Jewish community following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, had been dismantled in the lead-up to the Bondi Beach terror attack
• Jewish security group CSG told the commission that police had declined entreaties to permanently station officers at the festival despite their warning of a probable risk of a terror attack.
• Jewish witnesses said they had been intimidated by “online hate” after providing evidence, with offensive social media posts.