Australia/Israel Review

As this year’s federal election marches inevitably closer, it should by now be clear to everyone that – like it or not – the nation’s antisemitism crisis will be one of the salient issues of the campaign. And it will be an issue that matters not only to Jewish voters but to many other Australians who care about law and order, as well as rehabilitating what was our multicultural success story. 

Nobody wishes this wasn’t the case more than Australia’s Jewish community. 

Yet the soaring levels of antisemitism that we’ve seen nationwide since Hamas’ murderous and hostage-taking rampage through southern Israel on October 7, 2023 can’t be ignored, minimised or checked off as “already dealt with”. 

The antisemites, and their often-naïve helpmates, must be given their due. One can’t say they haven’t been creative in their ways of dishing out the world’s oldest hatred, and finding new avenues to escalate the feelings of hostility and anxiety experienced by the Australian Jewish community.

The antisemitic volcano that began erupting with the rally in front of the Sydney Opera House on Oct. 8, 2023 has been spewing out its bile in all directions even since. 

Antisemitism – and violent anti-Zionism indistinguishable from antisemitism – have been everywhere: On university campuses; at rallies in the CBDs of major cities on a weekly basis, occasionally even in front of synagogues; in arts circles, where Jewish professionals are doxxed and harassed; in a daily parade of graffiti, stickers and posters; in a successful arson that claimed one synagogue and attempted arson on another; in the burning down of a childcare centre; in a foiled bomb plot and more. Much more.

Soberingly, for all the antisemitic incidents that have made headlines, we have almost only certainly just scratched the surface.

Had fate not chosen an Israeli social media influencer to randomly be matched with two nurses from a hospital in Western Sydney on a chat app, the alarming reality of how antisemitism has infiltrated the health care system in Australia might have remained unreported.

The publicity surrounding that incident helped bring to AIJAC’s attention many more allegations of racist mistreatment of Israelis and Jews by doctors and nurses across the country. 

It also raised the question of why many regulatory bodies have turned a blind eye to healthcare workers who march in venomous anti-Israel rallies with extremist signs whilst in uniform. In one publicised incident, the only penalties that seem to have been meted out were to a whistleblower.

But focusing on antisemitism in healthcare is too narrow – the real point is that antisemitism left unchecked and unchallenged can and will manifest itself in every sphere of life imaginable. For our elected officials to allow this situation to continue to grow in Australia should be unimaginable.

As the election campaign began to ramp up, some confluence of the antisemitism issue with politics was, unfortunately, inevitable. This is why it is vital to bring some clarity to the issue before election campaigning potentially muddies the waters.

On one hand, Peter Dutton and his fellow Coalition members are well within their rights to seek to hold the Government accountable for its problematic record in failing to effectively confront the 16-month antisemitism crisis in this country. Indeed, as the Opposition, it’s their duty to do so. 

The truth is that, since the wave of antisemitism began, the overwhelming consensus within the Australian Jewish community is that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor Government has at times been dilatory, overly defensive and flat-footed in handling this crisis. And when criticised for this, its go-to tactic has often seemed to be to accuse the Opposition of playing politics with antisemitism, rather than seeking to either explain or improve its policies. 

Of course, on the other hand, when dealing with the emotionally charged and highly important issue of antisemitism, it’s also true that the Opposition has a responsibility to approach the matter with sensitivity, nuance and maturity – as it overwhelmingly has – and not just oppose the Government for its own sake.

Antisemitism does not stop at the boundaries of any electorate, and it makes sense that efforts to stop it are more effective when pursued in a bipartisan fashion. But it is important that both sides offer serious policy suggestions that are designed to actually address the problem, not merely score points in parliamentary give and take. 

It’s not easy to strike the right balance at any given moment. 

Yet, ultimately, the onus of responsibility rests on the elected leaders, and this Government cannot escape the fact that Australian Jewry is experiencing the worst antisemitism in living memory. And most of that community has not felt that this Government took the issue seriously enough, quickly enough – even while exacerbating the crisis through a dramatic shift away from Australia’s traditional support for Israel’s security, a shift which rewarded and emboldened the antisemitic extremists. 

On top of all this, for the first time in Australian history, there is a significant national party running that is enabling and providing a haven for antisemites who operate under the guise of anti-Zionism – the Greens.

Polls indicate an increasing likelihood of a hung parliament, with the Greens gaining the balance of power – a nightmare scenario. This would almost certainly lead to the current intolerable situation getting even worse, so this is an outcome that must be avoided at all costs. 

Any genuine fight against antisemitism is entirely incompatible with a future government relying on votes from a party that ridiculously and contemptuously argues that no demonisation of Israel can ever be considered a form of antisemitism, as the Greens frequently do. And that is only one of their highly problematic behaviours.

For that reason, if he genuinely cares about the antisemitism crisis – and we have no reason to doubt he does – Prime Minister Albanese needs to take a stand now, even before an election date is formally set, by ruling out forming government with the Greens. Both major parties should also call upon all voters to preference the Greens behind the two major parties in every electorate where they are on the ballot. 

The Jewish community, in the crosshairs of some of the worst antisemitism it has ever witnessed, can live with nothing less. There is too much at stake.