With antisemitism rising around the world, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli called for arming Jewish community guards with firearms during a discussion at the 2026 JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

The minister stressed the importance of allowing the security forces of Jewish communities in the Diaspora to carry real weapons. “What is the meaning of armed security if they can’t prevent horrific incidents?” Chikli asked. “Carrying weapons is very important; that the security forces of the community will be armed. It can save lives.”

In Australia, security is permitted to carry firearms inside institutions, but they were unarmed at the Bondi Beach massacre in December, 2025, which took place in a public space outdoors. “If they had guns at Bondi Beach, it wouldn’t have taken 12 endless minutes of massacre to do something,” he said.

Chikli also criticized the level of training of the police, to which Jewish communities look for protection, noting reports that a policewoman shot the Jewish civilian victim in Monday’s shooting in Montreal. “You need to have an effective police in order to counter terrorism,” he said.

Chikli had warned Canada’s government months earlier that it was heading down the same path as Australia. He referred to a Jan. 14 letter he had sent to Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree, warning:

“The recent antisemitic terror attack in Bondi Beach, Australia, in which 15 people were murdered, tragically illustrates the lethal cost of ignoring early warning signs and underestimating ideologically driven antisemitic violence. Canada is now exhibiting disturbingly similar indicators. This path leads to a point of no return.”

His warning went unheeded. “Nothing has been done in Canada to stop antisemitism and to stop the spike in radical Islamist incidents against the Jewish community. There are endless cases, incidents of shootings on Jewish schools, Jewish institutions, and, unfortunately, nothing has been done,” Chikli told the attendees.

The minister also blamed rising antisemitism in Canada, Australia and Britain to decisions by those governments to recognize a Palestinian state during Israel’s war against Hamas.

“When you are recognizing a terror state in the middle of the war, while our hostages are still in the dungeons, you are empowering these radical forces,” he said.