Labor Knows the Problem - It Simply Refuses to Listen, Learn and Lead: On The Appointment of a Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism
Naturally, I welcome the appointment of a Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism. Jillian Segal AO has the acumen, the integrity, and the connection to the Jewish community to do the job well. I wish her the very best in that vital undertaking.
I do note, however, that the United States first commissioned a special envoy to combat antisemitism almost 20 years ago. So, whilst I applaud Ms Segal’s appointment, it comes 20 years too late for the Australian Jewish community.
So, why are we here? Why do we need a Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism? Ours is a nation which has been built by migrants on the foundations of Judaeo-Christian ethics.
We should not be in a position where we are fighting to protect Jewish communities from antisemitism – at their schools and universities, in their workplaces and their businesses, online, in the streets and even in their homes.
The information, the stories, and the lived experiences of thousands of Jewish Australians have been available for months. Front page news. Sprawled over social media. Spoken about in Parliament and at press conferences on repeat.
We are here because on October 7, around 3000 foreign-funded, Hamas terrorists murdered, tortured, raped, and kidnapped Israeli men, women and children.
We are here because over 100 hostages still remain in captivity.
We are here because in the aftermath of the worst massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, extremists on the far-right and the far-left were all but enabled by weak governments – including our own – to march through our streets shouting terrorists’ slogans and calling for the annihilation of the Jewish people.
We are in this torrent of hate and extremism against the Jewish people because of the inaction, indifference and incompetence of the Albanese Labor Government, The Greens, and several so-called Independents strutting through the corridors of power, entirely detached from reality.
This Government’s issue hasn’t been a lack of information; it’s been a lack of courage and conviction when it comes to responding to antisemitism in Australia.
In the last 9 months alone, this Prime Minister, his Foreign Minister, and the Federal Labor Government have shown this to be true, when they:
Delayed a visit to Israel and then refusing to visit the sites of the massacre in a show of wilful blindness.
Reinstated UNRWA funding despite an ongoing investigation into the UN agency’s complicity in the October 7 terror attacks.
Called for a ceasefire and two-state solution just months after the massacre – on a Jewish high holiday.
Voted to recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly, breaking with allies and decades of bipartisanship on the matter.
Watched on as the trade union movement backed Hamas and the two-state solution.
Chose cowardice over courage when the International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israel’s democratically elected leaders.
Dithered and delayed instead of responding to vile antisemitism on Australian university campuses.
Then refused to support an urgent judicial inquiry into antisemitism on those campuses.
Fought against the campaign to proscribe organisations like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as terror groups.
Were woefully slow to act when their own Senator Fatima Payman chose solidarity with Hamas and The Greens over the Jewish people.
Time and again, equivocated and hesitated to support Australia’s Jewish community and our enduring partner in the Middle East, Israel.
So, while I absolutely welcome the appointment of such an esteemed community leader as the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, the imperative and the onus is not on Mrs Segal to combat antisemitism.
It is on this weak Prime Minister and his government to listen. To learn. And to lead.
And if that’s too difficult, then the Prime Minister needs to call an election and get out of the way.
