Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton joined forces on Nov. 22 to unequivocally condemn anti-Semitism in Australia.
The rare bipartisan support from the nation’s top leaders came during the opening of the Melbourne Holocaust Museum in Elsternwick.
Both leaders took a united stand against religious hatred as tensions continued rising following Israel’s declaration of war against the terrorist group Hamas on Oct. 7.
“As the conflict continues, anti-semitism is on the rise. But we will not let it find so much as a foothold here. Australia will always denounce it and reject it utterly, just as we do all forms of racism and prejudice,” Mr. Albanese said.
He suggested anti-semitism was an echo of the Holocaust.
There is “no place” for anti-semitic symbols that “glorify the horrors of the Holocaust,” he said.
“And there is no place for those who seek to profit from the trade in these evil symbols or use them to promote their hatred,” he said.
He said that, since the Oct. 7 attack, Jewish people experienced fresh pain since 6 million Jewish lives were lost during the Nazi era, saying they should “should never have had to bear again” the pain.
Opposition Calls for ‘Moral Courage’
At the same time, Mr. Dutton expressed agreement with the prime minister.“Right now, there is a need for unequivocal and unqualified condemnations of the anti-Semitism we are witnessing,” he said.
He advocated for a new moral-based approach.
“Whenever and wherever the forces of anti-Semitism are on the march, there is a need for moral courage and moral clarity,” he said.
“For everyday Australians, a simple act of moral courage which leads to moral clarity is to visit this museum, including with your children,” he said.
He said it was about helping people see how “hateful ideas” could turn into “evil deeds.”
“To hear the voices of those who died and those who survived; To confront the truth.”
Ethnic Tensions on the Rise
It comes as the Islamophobia Register of Australia said there had been a 10-fold increase in hate-fuelled incidents since the conflict broke out on Oct. 7.On Oct. 28, the organisation said they had received 51 reports in the previous two weeks but that more detail was needed due to underreporting.
Muslim women also reported feeling at risk because of their distinct scarves and headdresses.
Similarly, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s tally of anti-Semitic occurrences revealed a total of 221 incidents between Oct. 8 and Nov. 7, with 42 of those incidents recorded in just one week alone.
There was just one incident during the week before the conflict broke out.
The trend is being mainly realised in Victoria.
Victoria Police received 72 reports of anti-semitic incidents alongside 12 Islamophobic incidents between Oct. 7 and Nov. 10. Thirty-seven investigations and 10 arrests have resulted from those reports.
The Palestinian-Australian owner of a fast food chain in Melbourne recently had his Caulfield store destroyed by a suspicious fire.
Victoria’s Jewish community is concentrated in Caulfield, accounting for 41.4 percent of the suburb’s population.
Owner and CEO of Burgertory Hash Tayeh says the firebombing was politically motivated, given his appearance at, and leadership, of several pro-Palestine rallies across Melbourne.
Mr. Tayeh has since moved his wife and young child into different accommodations after receiving a multiple death threats over social media.
Nick Spencer contributed to this article.
