A test of leadership

Leadership is made and broken by traumatic events.  After the Christchurch massacre Jacinda Ardern’s legacy as Prime Minister of New Zealand will be remembered by the way she embraced the Muslim community and said, “They are us.”  While US President George’s Bush’s slow response immediately after 9/11 tarnished his record.

The Bondi Beach massacre was a defining moment for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s leadership and he has struggled.  The Prime Minister has at times said the ‘right’ words about “wrapping our arms around the Jewish community”, but in confronting the brutal murder of at least 15 people including 10-year-old-girl Matilda, what has felt missing was genuine emotion, moral conviction and authentic empathy.

Instead there was defensiveness.  When the Prime Minister was asked why the Government had not taken stronger action to counter antisemitism, he said on Tuesday, “There wasn’t an anti-Semitism envoy before our government established one, and anti-Semitism didn’t begin in 2022.”

But by Thursday Albanese signalled some self-reflection saying, “Governments aren’t perfect, I’m not perfect,” and “Could we have done more? Of course – you could always do more.”

The Prime Minister announced plans to adopt the antisemitism envoy’s report in full including plans to: strengthen hate speech laws; powers to reject or cancel visas for anyone spreading anti-Jewish hate; and launch a task-force to take on antisemitism at universities.

The changes proposed to hate speech laws include: A new aggravated hate speech offence for preachers and leaders who promote violence; Increased penalties for hate speech promoting violence; and hate will be made an aggravating factor in sentencing crimes for online threats and harassment.

A key issue has been the mainstreaming of antisemitism that has continued to grow since the Hamas October 7 attack.  Terms like “globalise the intifada” or “resistance by all means necessary” heard at protests were justified by many, and now some of those who stated those vile words, are trying to distance themselves from the blood spilt from the intifada on Bondi Beach.

What we need is inspiring leadership that can bring the country together around Australian values of tolerance and respect for the dignity of life.

We heard that leadership in former treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s passionate speech at Bondi Beach, when he said, “We are here – to fight for the soul of Australia and to fight for the survival of the Australian Jewish community that has been here since the arrival of the First Fleet just over 100,000 strong.”

Frydenberg accused Albanese of having “allowed Australia to be radicalised on his watch” and said it was “time for him to accept personal responsibility for the death of 15 innocent people including a 10-year-old child”.

The former treasurer lamented that warnings from Australian Jews were dismissed, “For two and a half years as the Australian Jewish community and others have raised the alarm bells, they were told by people who should know better that this was not as significant as they had said.”

Frydenberg called for the Government to adopt practical changes including: to ban hate preachers and extremist organisations such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, stop protests linked to extremism, invest in education, teach Australian values, have a “rigorous” immigration system, act on Segal’s report, and hold a royal commission into the Bondi terrorist attack and the rise of antisemitism in Australia.

Most importantly, Frydenberg emphasised that the Bondi Beach massacre was not just an attack on Australian Jews it is an attack on Australia.

It was the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil, and it cannot be treated as a massacre that occurred to ‘them’ – the Jews and not to ‘us’.  Australian Jews are Australian. Not to mention, that non-Jewish Australians were also shot and injured including brave first responders.

Matilda’s grieving father shared that she was named after their love for Australia – “We came here from the Ukraine… and I named her Matilda because she was our firstborn in Australia. And I thought that Matilda was the most Australian name that could ever exist. So just remember… remember her name.”

When I tucked my child into bed last night he asked, “Are there any baddies around?”  I said ‘No’, but in my heart I felt I was lying to him.

One day when he is older, I will need to explain that some people hate Jewish people and want to kill them, and that is why there is security at his school and why Jewish people always need to watch their back. I will tell him that his great-grandparents survived the Holocaust to come to Australia, and that we love Australia but if Australia is not safe, we will also need to leave.

I know many in the Australian Jewish community will be considering moving to Israel not only in a theoretical way but with actual plans.  Some did not move because this was the ‘lucky country’ and life in Israel could be dangerous. But as Frydenberg expressed this is no longer the lucky country, if only it could be again.