Bibi’s Albo attack ‘should not be dismissed’
"The burning of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne is an abhorrent act of antisemitism," says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A senior Jewish leader has stated that a post by Benjamin Netanyahu attributing the Adass firebombing to the Albanese government’s handling of relations with Israel “should certainly not be dismissed”.
In a blistering appraisal of the government’s UN vote on Palestinian statehood, the Israeli Prime Minister linked the shule attack to Australia’s backflip at the UN, where it now supports a timetable to a Palestinian state outside negotiations.
Netanyahu urged the federal and Victorian governments to become tougher on anti-Jewish hatred. “The burning of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne is an abhorrent act of antisemitism. I expect the [Australian] state authorities to use their full weight to prevent such antisemitic acts in the future.
“Unfortunately, it is impossible to separate this reprehensible act from the extreme anti-Israeli position of the Labor government in Australia, including the scandalous decision to support the UN resolution calling on Israel ‘to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as rapidly as possible’, and preventing a former Israeli minister [Ayelet Shaked] from entering the country,” he stated. “Anti-Israel sentiment is antisemitism.”
Two days after the Adass attack, following trenchant Opposition criticism that he had not classed the attack as terrorism, Albanese stated on Sunday, “Terrorism is something that is aimed at creating fear in the community and the atrocities that occurred in the synagogue in Melbourne clearly were designed to create fear in the community and therefore from my personal perspective certainly fulfil that definition of terrorism.”
On Monday, the firebombing was confirmed as terrorism and Albanese announced Operation Avalite, with investigations transferred to the Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, including Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and ASIO.
At a media conference, Premier Jacinta Allan said laws prohibiting activism outside places of worship are now being considered. But asked about Netanyahu’s comments, she claimed antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal had pointed out, in Allan’s words, “not all criticism of Israel is antisemitic”.
Meanwhile, Penny Wong hit back at Netanyahu’s linkage of the firebombing to Australia’s UN vote. In a speech in Adelaide, the Foreign Minister acknowledged “cruel acts of antisemitism evoke some of the darkest episodes in the history of the Jewish people”, but said, “Australia and Israel are democracies where our citizens can agree or disagree with individual policies or actions of their governments. It is not antisemitic to expect that Israel should comply with the international law [and] to call for children and other civilians to be protected, or to call for a two-state solution.”
But stating Netanyahu’s comments “should certainly not be dismissed”, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein told The AJN, “With its constant attacks on Israel, and refusal to allow former minister Ayelet Shaked a visa, the government is inadvertently adding to an atmosphere where antisemitism is becoming normalised and some clearly think what was once beyond the pale is now acceptable.”
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said, “We are not suggesting the federal government is intentionally inflaming antisemitism, but the practical consequence of the government’s big shifts in policy, and failure to call out incitement from the outset, has undoubtedly contributed to a significant rise in Jew-hate in Australia. Antisemitism and anti-Zionism is a danger, not only to Jews, but to social cohesion, democracy and the rule of law.”
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