SYDNEY – In response to a tragic mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that claimed 15 lives, New South Wales is considering a ban on public exhibitions of Islamic State flags and other extremist symbols, driven by antisemitic motives.

The state government is set to introduce legislation to Parliament that would make the public display of IS flags or similar extremist symbols illegal, carrying penalties of up to two years in jail and substantial fines.

State Premier Chris Minns announced that the proposed laws will also prohibit chants like “globalize the intifada,” while empowering police to require protesters to remove any face coverings during demonstrations.

“Our society has no place for hate speech or incitement to hatred,” Minns asserted on Saturday.

The term “intifada” is derived from Arabic and typically means “uprising.”

While pro-Palestinian demonstrators say the slogan describes the worldwide protests against the war in Gaza, Jewish leaders say it inflames tensions and encourages attacks on Jews.

“Horrific, recent events have shown that the chant ‘globalize the intifada’ is hate speech and encourages violence in our community,” Minns told reporters. “You’re running a very risky racket if you’re thinking of using that phrase.”

New South Wales politicians are expected to debate the reforms on Monday after the premier recalled parliament.

Police said Sunday’s attack, targeting a Hanukkah celebration on Australia’s most famous beach, was “a terrorist attack inspired by (the) Islamic State ” group. Police said they found two homemade IS flags in the vehicle used by the two suspects.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to introduce measures to curb radicalization and hate, including broadening the definition of hate speech offenses for preachers and leaders who promote violence, and toughening punishments for such crimes. The proposals would also designate some groups as hateful, and allow judges to consider hate as an aggravating factor in cases of online threats and harassment.

Albanese has also announced plans to tighten Australia’s already strict gun laws.

The attack has raised questions about whether Australian Jews are sufficiently protected from rising antisemitism.

Australia has 28 million people, including about 117,000 who are Jewish. Antisemitic incidents, including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation, surged more than threefold in the country during the year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel launched a war on Hamas in Gaza in response, the government’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal reported in July.