Politicians honour Israel’s 77 years
“Let us toast the people of Israel, the enduring strength of Jewish life" said Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.
Politicians joined community leaders to celebrate Israel’s 77 years of independence at the Sofitel in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said in her keynote address, “We gather here tonight while Israel and its neighbours are enduring such great pain, and we all mourn the scale of that tragedy, it began the day that Hamas invaded, killing and kidnapping innocent people, and it continues. Every Australian wants the hostages returned and the war to end.”
“Israel is fighting a terrorist organisation under the most difficult of circumstances. And now, while I don’t agree with every decision of the Israeli government, and I don’t agree with the withholding of aid to Gaza, however, we must all remember this fact, the government of Israel is not the same thing as the nation of Israel and the people of Israel and the Government of Israel is also not the same thing as the Jewish community here in Victoria, and it distresses me that some are unable to recognise this distinction. That members of the Jewish community here in Victoria have suffered as a result… It’s completely and utterly unacceptable. I stand with Victorian Jews in the face of racism and antisemitism,” Allan said.
Allan highlighted the recently established taskforce to counter racism ‘LEAH’, and new funding – $150,000 to the Rabbinical Council of Victoria and $130,000 to Beth Weizmann’s Habayit program, and $10,000 to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum to host an event for survivors.
A toast has become traditional for this annual event and while Allan did not keep the tradition last year, this time she raised her glass and said, “Let us toast the people of Israel, the enduring strength of Jewish life in Israel and around the world, and the security and dignity of the Jewish community here in Victoria.”
Victorian Opposition leader Brad Battin also spoke affirming the Liberals support for Israel. “The Victorian Liberal Party will always stand with Israel and the Jewish community – not just in times of crisis, but in the times of growth, opportunity and hope, our commitment is clear to build a Victoria where all Victorians feel safe, respected and empowered, to live openly, proudly and without fear.”
The evening featured speeches by Jewish community leaders from organisations hosting the event – Zionism Victoria, Zionist Federation of Australia, Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria.
Zionism Victoria president Elyse Schachna welcomed the audience and said, “There are people around the world and in Australia who have tried to twist the meaning of Zionism, who have used it as a slur. This attack on Zionism is just another form of Jew hatred. This new form of Jew hatred is fixated on the Jewish state… They don’t refer to us as Jews, instead, they call us ‘Zionists’. They believe that by doing so, they can avoid being called Jew haters.
“They are rewriting history and they are denying the Jewish people our right to define our own Jewish identity, something they would never do to any other minority. Last week’s double assassination of Sarah Milgram and Yaron Lischinsky in Washington is a stark reminder that what starts with words, slogans and social media posts can end in terrorism.”
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler reflected on the trauma felt by the Jewish community since October 7 2023. “It was not confined to watching what was taking place over in Israel. It was felt right here in Victoria as we witnessed an unprecedented explosion in antisemitism, weekly rallies openly calling for violence, brazen incitement, hateful rhetoric on our university campuses and attacks targeting our institutions, it was antisemitism unmasked, unashamed and relentless, and in many ways, the horrifying attack at the Adass synagogue felt like a culmination of many months of escalating hatred.”
Leibler thanked the Premier for her decisive response after the Adass synagogue was firebombed last December. “You sent an incredibly powerful message – that Jewish life in Victoria would not just be acknowledged but protected. And when your government introduced the new racial vilification legislation that we had long advocated for, you followed through on that commitment.”
Leibler said that this difficult time had taught him about “power of leadership and the cost of its absence.”
“There are some who seek to exploit our divisions, but there are others that seek to strive for common ground. There are rare leaders on both sides of politics who find the courage to speak with moral clarity, even at personal and political cost. And I believe that bipartisan support for the Jewish community, for social cohesion and for our democratic ally, the State of Israel, has always been a source of national strength.
“Now, bipartisanship does not mean unanimity. There have been and there will be times when we disagree on policy or approach. But the true test of leadership is not whether we always agree, it’s whether we can engage respectfully, whether we can listen carefully and remain anchored in our shared values,” Leibler said.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion shared he had recently returned from Israel from representing Australia at the World Jewish Congress and that four times during eight days there was an incoming rocket and he needed to find a bomb shelter. “The missile attacks are designed to create panic and maximum psychological impact,” he said.
Discussing Israel’s conflict with Hamas Aghion remarked, “Israel is at war… a messy and horrible war. People have died in Gaza and in Israel, and sadly, they will continue to die in both places. That is a tragedy. But on one side, you have Iran using its proxies and puppets – Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, to attack Israel over and over, even as I was in Israel last week.”
“Hamas in particular, listed by Australia as a terrorist organisation… has said that it will commit 7th October again and again… This war will end and the suffering on all sides will cease when all of the hostages are returned, Hamas is disarmed and removed from power, that outcome is entirely in a Hamas’ hands,” he stated.
The evening was concluded with Jewish Community Council of Australia president Philip Zajac leading a prayer for the remaining 58 hostages and asked that we keep the memory of Shiri Bibas and her two red headed children Ariel (4) and Kfir (1) alive after they were brutally murdered in Hamas captivity.
Politicians who attended the reception included MPs Mark Dreyfus, David Southwick, Paul Hamer, Senator James Paterson and former Victorian Premier John Brumby.
comments