Australia’s antisemitism crisis
They targeted Jews and made them feel less safe in their own country.
I am a 34-year-old Australian Jew from Sydney.
Save for the odd joke at school or in the workplace, I never felt much Anti-Semitism in the first 33 years of my life.
This summer though – things have been different.
I have worked in commercial radio and TV for the past 15 years, and have spent the past year or so covering Australia’s on-going antisemitism crisis. It has been horrible.
Antisemitism affects all Jews. From the shame and fear associated with seeing “F*ck the Jews” graffitied on cars, the shock at seeing beloved local delis and restaurants defaced or firebombed, or the devastation at seeing Synagogues targeted with vile hate – it’s been an awful time to be a Jew in Australia.
Which brings me to the Minister for Home Affairs, the Arts, Cyber Security, Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Tony Burke. There is no question Minister Burke is a political Labor lifer. He has been in Parliament for over 20 years. His youth was spent as an electorate officer for Labor Senators Graham Richardson and Michael Forshaw.
Politics may well be Minister Burke’s forte – but now is not the time for politics.
As the Minister for Home Affairs, he is charged with keeping Australians safe. As the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, his job is to keep Australians together.
Has he done that?
His decision to bag Opposition Leader Peter Dutton in the wake of revelations the Dural caravan plot, and potentially a swathe of other Anti-Semitic attacks, were allegedly the work of organised crime does not pass the pub test.
Burke has accused Dutton of being “reckless with national security” and using the Dural issue as a means of self-promotion.
I find this offensive.
Yes, Peter Dutton has been aggressive in criticising the Federal Government for their failure to curb Antisemitism, but the Leader of the Opposition has also done something few other leaders in this country have done: He has publicly stood up for Jews and Zionism.
Whether these attacks were or were not the work of organised crime – at the end of the day, I don’t really care.
They targeted Jews and made them feel less safe in their own country.
That is Antisemitic, and the Federal Government of the day should recognise that, rather than using a police investigation for political point scoring.
I note Minister Burke didn’t call out the Labor Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns for labelling the caravan episode “terrorism”. Nor his own Prime Minister who agreed with the Premier.
When it comes to stopping hate on our streets, politics should take a back seat.
Peter Dutton and Chris Minns have few things in common, but they have both been steadfast in showing not only leadership in the rise of Antisemitism, but they’ve also given Jewish Australians the confidence to walk down the street knowing some of our elected leaders back us in.
But does the current Federal Labor Government?
I’m never quite sure.
Ned Green is the former Executive Producer of Drive at Sydney’s 2GB radio.
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