Antisemitism an election issue
A Newspoll Found the Coalition would likely maintain a 51 to 49 per cent two-party-preferred lead over Labor.
As A federal election nears, recent polls suggest antisemitism may impact how people vote. An Age/SMH poll found 51 per cent surveyed feel “the conflict in the Middle East” has made Australia less safe and 54 per cent consider that there has been more antisemitism than Islamophobia. An Essential poll found 43 per cent of voters believe the government has not done enough to combat antisemitism.
This week a Newspoll found the Coalition would likely maintain a 51 to 49 per cent two-party-preferred lead over Labor, indicating a 3.1 per cent swing against Labor, with it losing seven or eight seats. However, for the Coalition to win on its own, it would need the swing to double, leaving a hung Parliament likely.
Commenting on the polls, Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim said, “The polls show that antisemitism is an issue of growing concern to the wider community and not only to the Jewish community. The issue is feeding into broader concerns about crime and law and order, and possibly about how the government is managing social cohesion in a range of policy areas, including immigration.
“Given the current state of the parties, even a small shift in votes might result in a significant number of seats changing hands. The Greens loss of the seat of Prahran in the Victorian state election and swings against the government in other seats were significant developments, but it remains to be seen whether these trends will be replicated federally.”
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council’s executive director Colin Rubenstein said that the issue of antisemitism is not only about law order but also central to “defending universal Australian values that we cherish”.
“These include not only mutual respect, tolerance and our liberal democratic values and traditions, but also the need to shore up and protect Australian multiculturalism – which is based on the overarching importance of complying with our responsibilities to accept these core Australian values,” Rubenstein said.
Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto said the election will also be about sending a message to the Greens. He remarked, “Our community is acutely aware that the Greens have knowingly fuelled antisemitism, actively undermined social cohesion and consistently exploited the conflict for political gain. Recent election losses in Qld and Victoria have indicated that it’s not only the Jewish community who are rejecting the Greens’ extremism.”
comments