In the Media

On the same evening, a nearby restaurant, where chefs and waitstaff from different parts of the world were serving Israeli food to an equally diverse mix of patrons, was stormed by a menacing mob shouting “death to the IDF”.

I have led Jewish community organisations for close to 50 years and have never experienced the level of anti-Semitism that erupted immediately after Hamas’s genocidal attack on ­ October 7, 2023, and infected Australia’s way of life.

Just as the terrorist members of Hamas operate under a formal written charter that calls for both the elimination of the State of Israel and the annihilation of the Jewish people worldwide, those who took to the streets of Melbourne are fundamentally driven by a ­hatred of Jews.

Such people have always been here, but the murders, rapes and abductions that took place on ­ October 7, 2023, emboldened them. And as long as protests accompanied by chants of “Zionists are terrorists”, “death to the IDF”, “globalise the intifada” and “from the river to the sea” continue, violence directed at the Jewish community and its institutions will follow.

The weekend statements from the Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs clearly recognise the seriousness of the situation, and the importance of restoring the social harmony that defines us as Australians.

Demonstrations that intimidate, incite and lead to violence against the Jewish community, or any group of us, are inimical to this objective.

Because the cleverest economic reforms, the most enlightened investments in health or education or infrastructure, will count for very little if our social ­cohesion disintegrates.

That said, we should have learned by now that, while it is critical for them to do so, having politicians say the right thing is ­nowhere near enough. It requires leaders from across all sectors of our community to recognise the stakes for what they are. Faith leaders, business leaders, those who administer our justice system, our education system – influencers across the board.

Police have an especially important role to play. We are fortunate in this country to have a carefully considered set of laws that prohibit behaviour that incites violence, and that apply criminal sanctions to those who engage in such behaviour. It would be a powerful deterrent if police were more robust in their application of the law.

Silence is no longer an option, if it ever was, and nor is sitting back and waiting in the hope that when the war in the Middle East finally comes to an end, life will go back to normal.

That’s tantamount to approbation, because the only way we can stop this creeping breakdown of our society now is to reject it as a collective of people who care about our country – loudly, broadly and unequivocally, in the best interests of our nation and all Australians.

As Tony Burke said, the attacks on Friday night in Melbourne were an attack on Australia – an attack on our values, our way of life and precious qualities that have made our country the envy of the world.

Mark Leibler AC is the National Chairman of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) and a senior partner of Arnold Bloch Leibler.