Source : Perth Now news
Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor have marked the third anniversary of the October 7 attack in Israel in remarks condemning the Islamist group behind it.
Hamas militants from Gaza slaughtered and tortured their way across southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200, injuring thousands more and taking hundreds hostage.
The biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, much of the carnage was captured in videos shared online and celebrated by sympathisers.
In a statement mourning the loss of life, including Australian Galit Carbone, the Prime Minister vowed “to never forget what the terrorists perpetrated in all their cruelty”.
“On this dark anniversary, we remember the 1200 who were taken from the world, the largest loss of Jewish life on any single day since the Holocaust,” he said.
“We think of everyone who was dragged into captivity, everyone who never returned home to their families, and everyone forever scarred by what they endured.
“We think of all who lost loved ones, everyone who suffered, and those who entered that most agonising of vigils, struggling to bear the weight of hope as they waited for news of their loved ones held hostage.”
Mr Albanese said “Australia stands with the Jewish community here and across the world”.
“We stand against anti-Semitism and racism in all its forms because it goes against who we are,” he said.
“We stand against Hamas, which must disarm and play no role in Palestine’s future.”
With pro-Palestine marches planned for Australia’s biggest city, the Opposition Leader criticised “those who seek to portray the victim, Israel, as the villain and portray the villain, Hamas, as the victim”.
“There are those who deceitfully accuse Israel of genocide, yet turn a blind eye to groups and regimes with real genocidal intent,” Mr Taylor said.
“Such perversions of the truth and lack of moral clarity help to fuel anti-Semitism and make it permissible.
“The fight against anti-Semitism is therefore a fight for the truth – a fight that continues on our soil too.
“And that fight is also about acknowledging and combating all sources of anti-Semitism, especially Islamist extremism.”
More to come
