Anti-Semitism Content to Be Included in Citizenship Test If Elected: Coalition

Shadow Minister Dan Tehan also spoke about youth crime and Minister Tony Burke’s citizenship ceremonies.

Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan speaks to the media during a press conference in Sydney, Australia on May 21, 2021. AAP Image/Joel Carrett

If it wins power, the Coalition will include content about anti-Semitism in the Australian Citizenship test, amid a package of measures to deal with the ongoing issue, according to Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan.

Tehan made the comments during an online forum run by the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) amid a flurry of anti-Semitic incidents that have swept the country since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, including arson attacks and the firebombing of a synagogue.

“We will establish a judicial inquiry into campus anti-Semitism, and we will deliver $32.5 million in a security funding package as requested by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry without any strings attached, including funding for armed guards at schools and synagogues, unlike the Albanese government, who have restricted funding to unnarmed guards only,” Tehan told the forum.

“On top of that, this will be something we’ll announce during the election campaign—we will also, within the Australian Citizenship Test, place a specific section which will deal with antisemitism.

“And we will have an education module which will deal with anti-Semitism. So if you want to become a citizen of this nation, you will have a specific section you will need to undertake in regards to anti-Semitism.

“And we’ll provide $7.5 million over three years in additional funding to Crimestoppers, and enable Crimestoppers to expand its operations and protect more Australians.”

Protestors hold placards and flags during a rally against anti-Semitism in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 18, 2024. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Tehan also said a new taskforce would also be set up—there is currently one called Operation Avalite—that will be led by the Australian Federal Police, and incorporate the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), which tracks financial crime, the Australian Border Force, and state police.

The taskforce would deal with those involved with terror organisations like Hamas, the Palestinian Liberation Front, or Hezbollah.

This week, it was revealed Australians Abed AlMajeed Mourtada, Miriam, Ishaq Zein, Hassan Jaber attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.

Hezbollah is a designated terror organisation, and support for the group is banned in Australia.

“If they’re not an Australian citizen—if they’re a visa holder, then my view is that we’d refer them immediately to our anti-Semitism taskforce,” Tehan said.

The shadow minister said the Coalition would also consider cancelling visas for non-citizens, and see “whether the law is strong enough” to deal with citizens.

Crime to be Focus of Next Campaign

The member for Wannon also discussed the next federal election, saying Victoria’s current bail laws had become “a running joke” and were allowing young repeat offenders back into the community too soon.

“The heart of it, I think actually goes to the Allan Labor government and [former Premier] Dan Andrews before that,” he told The Epoch Times.

“Their lack of ability to really the police, and the wonderful role that the police undertake through the weakening of the court system in Victoria, it’s a running joke now.

“The police just watch people they’ve arrested go into court, and then watch them come out again waving to them.

“That’s because the law is not being imposed on them.”

Victoria is crucial for the Liberal-National opposition as it tries to swing a swathe of seats—particularly in outer suburban Melbourne—to win back government.

Youth Crime Incidents

Crime has been an ongoing issue across Australian jurisdictions with young repeat offenders involved in seemingly more daring incidents.

It’s had a widespread impact on small businesses and families, and across the outer suburban Werribee and Cranbourne, to the inner-city and affluent St. Kilda.

This week, an innocent woman in Melbourne’s south-east was attacked while vacuuming her car at a carwash, hit in the head in the ordeal, before onlookers chased down the man.

He was soon arrested by police less than 1 kilometre away, with residents in south-east Melbourne saying they now feel forced to take matters into their own hands.

A cafe in inner-city Carlton–Elgin St Café–was repeatedly targeted over a 10 day period.

On Feb. 14, vandals smashed six puncture holes in the building’s glass windows. Three days later, there were eight.

A few days later, the café was covered in paint, with owner Michael Kelly telling 7 News Melbourne they were “probably drugged up to build reasonable confidence.”

Police did not arrive on the scene after the first two incidents.

Criticism of Tony Burke’s Citizenship Ceremonies

Tehan also spoke about current Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s citizenship blitz, with the minister overseeing ceremonies for 12,500 new citizens across the country.

Burke says it was to clear a backlog of ceremonies and was unrelated to the upcoming federal election.

However, the move has attracted criticism from Nationals Senator for Victoria Bridget McKenzie claiming the minister was conducting “industrial-scale seat stacking in western Sydney seats.”

“The local mayors definitely thought that, and that was what they called him out on,” Tehan said.

“He was quite happy to strip their rights from conducting those citizenship ceremonies to do a mass-citizenship ceremony himself, and invite Labor Party MPs and candidates to that.”