EDITORIAL: Anti-Semitism envoy a welcome, but belated, move

It’s difficult for the 99.6 per cent of Australians who aren’t Jewish to comprehend the experience of the other 0.4 per cent of the population since October 7.

First, the initial shock and despair at seeing 1200 Israelis — the majority of them civilians — brutally murdered by Hamas militants.

And then, the horror of an explosion of anti-Semitism here at home.

Sadly, a fundamental part of the Jewish experience is knowing that a not-insignificant proportion of humanity wants you, your children, your parents, siblings and extended family, dead. They believe you should not exist, that the world would be better off if you were wiped from it.

Until recently, it was possible in multicultural Australia to at least push that knowledge to the back of one’s mind.

For many Australian Jews, October 7 and the events since shattered that illusion of safety.

In the days immediately after that atrocity, they watched as supporters of a terrorist regime drove through the streets of Australia’s major cities, celebrating that brutal and bloody massacre. They saw them gather on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, screaming “f... the Jews”. They watched as extremists set up encampments at universities across the country, spreading their messages of hatred.

They witnessed their fellow Australians — people they worked with, socialised with, waved to in the street — flooding social media with slogans calling for their annihilation. Some made these posts out of ignorance, not understanding their true meaning. Others made them out of a sincere and abiding hatred. Trying to differentiate between the foe and fool is another mental burden.

Even elected parliamentarians — those who are supposed to be committed to the defence of democracy — repeated some of those phrases.

Reports of anti-Semitic incidents in Australia have risen 800 per cent since October 7, eroding the Jewish community’s sense of safety and belonging.

The Labor Government’s response has been to try to play both sides of the fence, an approach that did little to soothe Jewish fears.

Hopefully, the appointment of lawyer and businesswoman Jillian Segal as Australia’s first special envoy on anti-Semitism is the end of that failed approach.

It’s a welcome, though belated, move by the Government, which also intends to appoint an equivalent role to counter rising Islamophobia.

Ms Segal said Australians needed to be vigilant to the risks anti-Semitism posed to our nation’s “tolerant and peaceful way of life”.

“Anti-Semitism erodes all that is good and healthy in a society. As such, it poses a threat not just to the Jewish community, but to our entire nation. Anti-Semitism is an age-old hatred,” she said.

The vast majority of Australians — of all faiths and none — don’t want conflicts abroad to take root here.

In order to protect our social cohesion, and remain the world’s most successful multicultural society, we must stop this cancer now.