Burns describes relentless online abuse

Federal member for Macnamara Josh Burns told the Royal Commission on Tuesday that the firebombing of his St Kilda electorate office and the relentless online abuse directed at him and his family carry a common message to Jewish Australians: that they do not belong.

The arson attack, which he said cost about $100,000 to repair, was accompanied by graffiti reading “Zionism is fascism” over an image of Burns with horns drawn on his head.

“If they thought that smashing up my office was going to bring about peace in the Middle East … all it did was cost $100,000 to fix it and scare a lot of people,” he said.

Burns, a proud member of the Jewish community, said the deeper danger was not overt hatred but the subtler logic that holds Jewish Australians responsible for the actions of the Israeli government.

“I’m not an Israeli citizen. I’ve never been an Israeli citizen. I have no desire to be an Israeli citizen. I’m a proud Australian,” he said. To attribute dual loyalty to a Jewish person, he said, was “a complete dehumanisation”.