Legendary Olympic swimmer Dawn Fraser has demanded Prime Minister Anthony Albanese properly address the rising tide of antisemitism in Australia, claiming he is 'too scared' to speak up.

Fraser on Sunday gave a teary speech at Sydney's Bondi Beach, where she slammed the government by saying it had let the country, and its Jewish community, down.

Fraser joined more than 60 other sporting greats who have signed a petition calling for Albanese to announce a royal commission into antisemitism in Australia - in particular the Bondi Beach massacre on December 14, and the events which led to it. 

Other sports stars to speak up include Olympic canoeist Jess Fox, swimming legend Ian Thorpe, tennis champion Lleyton Hewitt, former AFL player Sam Newman, Sydney Swans' Isaac Heeney and retired Hockeyroo player Nova Peris. 

In her speech, Fraser told Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Foreign Minister Penny Wong to 'come down off their high horse' and added that 'this is not about the spineless and weak; it's about doing the right thing'.

Albanese has been accused of ignoring the pleas of Bondi victims' families after he declared there will not be a royal commission, but instead retired spy boss Dennis Richardson would lead a government review.

Liberal leader Sussan Ley has already accused the Prime Minister of repeatedly 'refusing to listen' to calls for the independent inquiry into the alleged terrorist attack, in which 15 people died and many more were injured.

The Richardson Review will examine the conduct of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies prior to the attack, with findings due by April.

Legendary Olympic swimmer Dawn Fraser has called the prime minister ineffective for not supporting a Commonwealth royal commission into the Bondi Beach massacre 

Fraser said Anthony Albanese should 'stop trying to run for cover' and instead do what is right by the community 

Fraser questioned whether the prime minister was trying to protect himself from any negative findings that a royal commission might uncover. 

'I have flown to Sydney to show my support for the Jewish community and say I'm so very sorry for my country and its leaders not protecting each and every one of you and your families... we failed you,' she said.

'This is not a gun problem or a one-off problem, this is an antisemitism problem and it has been building and building and our leaders have sat on their hands too scared to say anything or do anything because heaven forbid they might be called racist.'

Fraser, who has part-Peruvian heritage, has previously been accused of being racist, particularly after a 2015 incident in which she publicly told Nick Kyrgios to go back to his own country.