Anthony Albanese to unveil plan to combat anti-Semitism with special envoy

The Australian

7 days ago

A new strategy to combat hate will be unveiled by Anthony ­Albanese and his special envoy on anti-Semitism after a resurgence of ­attacks on the Jewish community over the weekend.
Jewish leader Jillian Segal is working on a comprehensive set of proposals for Labor to consider, following the alleged attempted firebombing of a synagogue and the trashing of an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne.
The Prime Minister on Tuesday said he was committed to working with Ms Segal to end the 'scourge' of anti-Semitism, but dismissed Sussan Ley's call for an emergency national cabinet to discuss the hate-crime crisis.
'Jillian Segal has been doing a terrific job, and over the coming days we'll have more to say. But, of course, we have responded substantially with increased security for synagogues, for Jewish schools, for community organisations,' Mr Albanese said in ­Hobart.
'We'll continue to engage constructively with the community to make sure that they get the support that they need. Anti-Semitism is a scourge. It has no place in Australia. And what we saw in Melbourne with the ­attacks that occurred are reprehensible, deserve condemnation and the gentleman concerned at the synagogue has been arrested and he should face the full force of the law.'
The Australian understands Ms Segal's plan will incorporate elements of an Executive Council of Australian Jewry blueprint on combating anti-Semitism, which was released in February.
Sources close to the process believe the Segal proposal will not adopt all 15 points of the ECAJ plan, which includes a clampdown on violent anti-Israel slogans at protests, a new strategy to stamp out bigotry in classrooms, and a tightening of visa rules to keep anti-Semites out of ­Australia.
But ECAJ co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin on Tuesday said he was pleased Mr Albanese was working closely with Ms Segal to 'implement the policy responses the community has called for'.
'The events in Melbourne have, yet again, shown that we are confronted with a violent ideology that not only chants 'death to Zionists' but threatens the police, elected officials and public safety,' Mr Ryvchin told The ­Australian.
'They want to turn our CBDs into no-go zones and to pit groups of Australians against each other. They have infiltrated campuses, schools, cultural institutions. The intifada is being globalised exactly as promised.
'We await the government's announcement on how it intends to restore public order and drive anti-Semitism back to the dark peripheries of society.'
Mr Albanese on Tuesday ­appeared to oppose the suggestion of a cross-jurisdictional taskforce on anti-Semitism when asked about merging state and federal police efforts.
'We have a task force and what we do is take on security issues, we take advice from security agencies,' he said. 'That's precisely what we have done.'
He nonetheless said that he had been receptive to requests by Jewish leaders about stemming rising anti-Semitism.
'I spoke with Jewish com­munity leaders on Saturday,' he said. 'Every time there has been a request, it has been met, ­expeditiously, and that has ­occurred.'
The Opposition Leader on Tuesday welcomed the government's 'sensible' indication it was prepared to enhance education about anti-Semitism but ­demanded more action on the rest of the ECAJ's plan.
'It's actually one of the points in the 15-point plan to combat anti-Semitism, I'd like to know whether the government is looking at the other 14 points,' the ­Opposition Leader said.
'But, of course, this is not just about the security in place that we've heard about and that we see around us with this rising tide of anti-Semitism. It's about much more than that.
'It's about education. It's about the governance of our universities, it is about what happens in schools, and it's about social media, and it's about national ­security responses.'
Standing outside the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation synagogue, which was targeted in an attempted arson attack on Friday, Ms Ley pledged not to 'look away'.
'Hate can never be normalised,' she said.
'It can never be excused. It can never be explained away.
'We stand with the Jewish community in Australia today and every day.
'We won't look away. We will be here to see this through. It's very important with these events that we don't just come today and say the things that we'd be ­expected to say and then walk away. We will never do that. We never have done that.'
Victorian Jewish leaders also sat down with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, representatives from Victoria Police and Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece late on Tuesday for the first meeting of an anti-hate taskforce established in the wake of the spate of attacks on the weekend.
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said the Jewish community recognised the 'strong, immediate response' taken in response to the recent spate of anti-Semitic acts, and highlighted the need for a ­bipartisan response. Read related topics: Anthony Albanese Education
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