Victoria’s leaders show solidarity
Liberal leader John Pesutto emphasised that “words start to lose their weight and force without action … we have to stand up, not just speak up.“
Addressing the annual State Parliament Yom Ha’atzmaut salute on Wednesday night, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she recognises “the hurt that this community is feeling … the rise of antisemitism … but also the hurt that still runs so deep after what happened in Israel 235 days ago. Jews worldwide will mourn October 7 for the rest of their lives.
“It really breaks my heart to think that out there this weekend … a young Jewish Australian boy might be putting his footy boots on and heading off to training, perhaps quietly feeling like he’s a little bit less than equal … a Jewish Australian girl heading off to university and seeing something that might be stuck to a lamppost that tells her that she too is less than equal. And that is what antisemitism does.”
On the slur daubed on Mount Scopus Memorial College last weekend, Allan said. “I’m not going to repeat those two words — let us reflect on something else … Two words we should say with pride. Jews live. Jews live in Israel, and they live here in Victoria.”
Recounting her listening session at Central Shule, Allan also spoke about mandatory Holocaust education in schools and the government’s planned anti-vilification laws.
Liberal leader John Pesutto emphasised that “words start to lose their weight and force without action … we have to stand up, not just speak up.“
He said as premier he would “direct Victorian police … to prioritise the prosecution of vilification offences” and “introduce move-on laws to make sure that Jewish students could attend university, could attend school”. He would order the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission “to enforce the law”.
Each attendee was asked to take home one of 125 flowers from the podium, symbolising a missing or murdered hostage.
Some attendees at the event expressed dismay that Allan had privately declined to lead the annual toast to Israel. Contacted by The AJN, a spokesperson for the Premier’s office said Allan had felt raising a toast would have been “an odd change of tone” after giving a speech on antisemitism.
FULL REPORT IN NEXT WEEK’S AJN
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