Source : the age
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, the country’s most senior Jewish politician, has demanded an end to the politicisation of antisemitism after Israel and Hamas struck a provisional ceasefire deal.
Dreyfus, who is on the Albanese government’s first ministerial mission to Israel in a year, said that the ceasefire should send a message to Australia.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has demanded an end to the politicisation of antisemitism in Australia.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“It should signal the end to grotesque exploitation of the conflict by politicians in Australia,” Dreyfus told ABC radio’s RN Breakfast from Tel Aviv.
“Now more than ever, we need unity, and political point-scoring has only fuelled more social discord at home.
“We’ve seen unacceptable and abhorrent antisemitic attacks, something that should cause all Australians to stand together and say: ‘No more.’ It’s not a time for political point scoring.”
Police in Sydney are investigating a potential hate crime after multiple cars were graffitied, two set on fire and a home splashed with red paint in an antisemitic attack early on Friday in the eastern suburb of Dover Heights, which has a significant Jewish population.
It follows the vandalism of synagogues in the inner west and south of the city and the arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne last year.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack as an “outrage”. “There is no place for antisemitism in Australia,” he said in a statement. “It must stop and offenders must face the full force of the law.”
Federal police arrested a 44-year-old man in Sydney on Thursday for allegedly making threats to kill Jewish leaders on social media. He has not yet faced court.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton reiterated his criticism of the government over its handling of antisemitism on Friday, accusing Albanese of ignoring calls from antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal for a national cabinet meeting and mandatory minimum sentences for antisemitism offences.
“We wouldn’t tolerate this sort of targeting of people based on their religious belief, or the colour of their skin or their religious creed in any other segment of our society,” Dreyfus said on Today. “And somehow over the last 14 months or so, the government has allowed the level of anti-Semitism to rise by some 700 per cent.”
The ceasefire deal struck on Thursday is yet to be endorsed by the Israeli cabinet. One far-right minister has threatened to quit over the agreement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hamas of violating the provisional deal, which the terror group has rejected.
Dreyfus said he had been “warmly welcomed” in all his meetings in Israel, which included speaking with the families of hostages held by Hamas and with government ministers.
“There’s been a very strong friendship between our countries since Israel was founded by the United Nations, and what I’ve felt in all of the meetings is that we should be strengthening that already strong relationship between Australia and Israel,” Dreyfus said.
Netanyahu criticised the Albanese government as having an “extreme anti-Israel position” last year.
More to come.
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