1982

At about 6.45 p.m. on the 23 December 1982, an explosive device was detonated inside a vehicle parked outside the Hakoah Club at 61–67 Hall Street, Bondi. Fortunately, the bomb didn’t detonate properly, and none of the many people inside the club was injured during the resultant explosion. However, three adjacent vehicles were significantly damaged, including the one the bomb was stored in.

Earlier that day, an explosive device had been detonated near the fire-exit door of the Israeli Consulate at 80 William Street, Sydney, in what seemed to be a targeted attack on Sydney’s Jewish community. Two people had been injured from the force of the blast, and the consulate building had been caused significant damage.

In relation to the Hakoah Club attack, the initial police investigations led to the arrest of a 31-year-old man. The case was taken to court, but the Attorney General of New South Wales later withdrew the charges.

In 2011, New South Wales Police and the Australian Federal Police reopened the case, citing new leads. The case was assigned to the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team (JCTT) in Sydney, under the codename Operation Forbearance. Detectives said they believed there were still community members who knew the people responsible for the two attacks. They released new images of a woman and two cars they believed had been involved.

In August 2012, New South Wales Police released new photos of two men they believed had been involved. The investigation was reopened following enquiries both in Australia and overseas. In 1982, the attacks had been believed to be linked to an international pro-Palestine terrorist organisation and that the Hakoah Club bombing had been designed to cause the building to collapse and the many people inside to be killed or injured.

Detectives believe that the suspects are still living in Sydney, and say that technological advances have been an aid to moving the case forward. According to Assistant Commissioner Peter Dein, who commands of the Counter-Terrorism Unit, “We’re conducting a number of investigative leads in relation to advances in technology and also in relation to our modern-day techniques.” Detectives say another terrorist attack could occur if they don’t catch the suspects and that the Israeli Government has been involved in the renewed investigation. They still believe that a disbanded Palestinian group was responsible for the two attacks but have refused to confirm reports they’ve interviewed convicted terrorist Mohammed Rashed, imprisoned in the US for the 1982 bombing of a Pan American flight during which a teenage boy was killed.

According to the Wentworth Courier the Sydney attackers had sourced two gas cylinders from the State Rail Authority of New South Wales (since renamed RailCorp). Detectives interviewed former State Rail employees and travelled to Israel to interview employees and witnesses who’d been at the Israeli Consulate in Sydney. Sufficient grounds had been established to warrant a formal re-investigation into both bombings.

Courtesy Fairfax Media and Waverley Library Local Studies Collection.