EDITORIAL: Australia’s chance to stamp out anti-Semitism slipping away

Barely 24 hours before Anthony Albanese was strong-armed into convening an emergency meeting of National Cabinet to discuss the fast-rising tide of anti-Semitism sweeping through our suburbs, the Prime Minister was adamant that more talking was not the answer.

“What people want to see isn’t more meetings, they want to see more action,” he said.

Then, a Sydney childcare centre, 100m from Maroubra Synagogue was firebombed and graffitied with anti-Semitic slurs.

That, apparently, was too much. Mr Albanese finally called the meeting that his hand-picked anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal had been pleading for for weeks.

It was an opportunity to send a strong message to the community. A show of national unity; to stand up to those who would spread fear tell them once and for all that this wasn’t how we live in Australia.

We would not allow ourselves to become a country that tolerated acts of hate against a valued and peaceful minority in our community.

But once again, Mr Albanese missed that opportunity.

The key “announceable” to come out of National Cabinet was a new database which would catalogue anti-Semitic hate crimes.

Seriously? Pick up a newspaper, switch on the evening news. Every week, another firebombing. More toxic hate.

Speak to any of the 117,000 Australian Jews about what it is like to live with this campaign of terror designed to harass and intimidate them, leaving them feeling unsafe in their own suburbs. There’s your database.

The moment to get serious about stamping out the scourge of anti-Semitism should not have been the firebombing of that Maroubra childcare centre.

The turning point came October 9, 2023.

That was the day hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists were allowed to gather on the steps of the Sydney Opera House — one of the most recognisable symbols of our nation — to celebrate the bloody and brutal murders of 1200 Israelis.

And the response from our authorities and leaders to that shameful act set the stage for what has happened since.

Instead of strong action against those who took part in this grotesque celebration of death, we got quibbling from police over exactly what anti-Semitic phrases were chanted. Was it “Gas the Jews”, or “Where’s the Jews”?

Instead of shutting down this festival of hatred, it was Jewish Australians who were told to stay out of the streets. Many had come to this country so they could live their lives freely, without fear that they would be targeted for who they were. Now, they were being told to hide themselves away.

Their right to exist peacefully and openly was overridden by authorities’ desire to maintain so-called “social cohesion”.

We’ve been losing this fight ever since.

Even now, police and Mr Albanese are trying to downplay recent incidents of anti-Semitism by suggesting some of the perpetrators were “criminals for hire” paid by overseas actors, rather than homegrown anti-Semites — as if that makes it somehow less heinous.

Mr Albanese is right, we do need more action. But at the moment, we’re not getting that either.