‘The laws are failing': Sussan Ley visits Melbourne synagogue
Ms Ley calls for education on antisemitism to be implemented in schools.
'The laws are failing,' Ms Ley said.
'If the laws are failing, they're certainly not strong enough.'
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese snubs Jewish Australian community's antisemitism plan after synagogue attack
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed calls from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Australian Jewish community to revisit plans to combat antisemitism. It comes after a scourge of antisemitic attacks since October 7, 2023, including the recent attempted arson attack at a synagogue. Despite this, Mr Albanese turned away from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry's (ECAJ) proposal to 'defeat antisemitism' on Tuesday. Asked at a press conference whether he would adopt the 15-point plan put forward by ECAJ, Mr Albanese sidestepped the proposal. 'What we're doing is working with the special envoy on antisemitism and we'll have more to say about that in coming days,' Mr Albanese told reporters. 'I appointed a special envoy – that was something that came from the community, that request. Jillian Segal has been doing a terrific job. 'We've responded substantially with increased security for synagogues, for Jewish schools, for community organisations.' He defended the government's record and said he 'engaged constructively with the community'. 'Antisemitism is a scourge. It has no place in Australia. And what we saw in Melbourne with the attacks that occurred are reprehensible,' Mr Albanese said. 'We will respond to any request constructively – that is what we have done.' ECAJ co-CEO Alex Ryvchin presented his 15-point plan to defeat antisemitism to Mr Albanese in February, 2025, after the Sky News Antisemitism Summit. Pressed on whether he would consider the request, including merging police task forces to coordinate a stronger response, Mr Albanese dismissed the idea. 'We have a task force, and what we do is take on security issues, we take advice from security agencies. That's precisely what we have done,' he said. He also dismissed calls to convene National Cabinet over the issue, saying, 'Let's be clear – what people want is not a meeting, they want action'. Earlier this year, Mr Albanese also said people didn't want 'more meetings, they want more action', before he convened a National Cabinet meeting on antisemitism. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been urging the Albanese government to do more to address antisemitism in Australia. 'I view with utmost gravity the antisemitic attacks that occurred last night in Melbourne,' Mr Netanyahu said in a statement released on the weekend. 'The reprehensible antisemitic attacks, with calls of 'Death to the IDF' and an attempt to attack a place of worship, are severe hate crimes that must be uprooted. 'We demand that the Australian government take all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and prevent similar attacks in the future.' Asked if he had a response to the Israeli Prime Minister's comments, Mr Albanese said, "No, that's a matter for him". Opposition Leader Sussan Ley criticised Mr Albanese's response to the ECAJ proposal on Tuesday, declaring she would fully adopt the 15-point plan if elected. 'We commit, and we do so wholeheartedly, with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry's 15-point plan to combat antisemitism,' Ms Ley said. 'I want to know what Anthony Albanese is doing to protect Jewish Australians. I want to know what the government plans (to do) because… words are not enough.' About 20 people, including children, were inside the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation on Friday when a man allegedly attempted to set the building on fire. Victoria Police has since arrested a 34-year-old NSW man, and the investigation is ongoing. Mr Ryvchin described the attack as a 'severe escalation' in threats facing the community. 'We urge all sides of politics and all Australians to condemn these deplorable crimes,' he said on Sunday. 'Those responsible cannot be reasoned with or appeased. They must be confronted with the full force of the law.' The attack follows a wave of antisemitic incidents in Australia over the past months, including nazi vandalism, death threats, and arson attacks.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
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‘Action:' Albo hits out on synagogue fire
Anthony Albanese has defended Labor's track record of working and responding to anti-Semitic attacks on the Jewish community, amid attacks from the opposition that there have been too many 'talkfests' and not enough 'action'. While quizzed by journalists in Hobart on Tuesday, the Prime Minister snapped back at a reporter who said Jewish community leaders had claimed the government's response was 'insufficient'. The questions were in response to an alleged arson attack on the East Melbourne Synagogue on Friday night, 'Who is saying that?' asked in response, and said he had spoken to community leaders on Saturday. 'Every time there has been a request, it has been met, expeditiously,' he said. 'On Saturday, one of the reasons why this gentleman has been caught so quickly is because the CCTV that was in place there was as a direct result of Commonwealth Government funding.' The East Melbourne synagogue was set ablaze on Friday night in an alleged arson attack. NewsWire/ Valeriu Campan Credit: News Corp Australia The blaze damaged the doors. NewsWire/ Valeriu Campan Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Albanese also rejected calls for him to convene national cabinet in response to Friday's alleged arson attack. 'Every time an issue comes up, people say, let's have a national cabinet. Let's be clear. What people want is not a meeting. They want action,' Mr Albanese said. Mr Albanese's comments comes after Executive Council of the Australian Jewry president Alex Ryvchin urged the government to adopt its 15-point plan to 'defeat anti-Semitism' in Australia. The plan includes calls for anti-Semitism education in the national curriculum and urges Labor to declare a National Emergency and establish a Joint Counter-Terrorism Taskforce to 'fight against anti-Semitic terror before we have a major terror attack in this country'. Sussan Ley said Labor had not committed to enough action. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia Speaking later on Tuesday following a visit to the East Melbourne Synagogue, Sussan Ley maintained the Albanese government was not doing enough to protect Jewish-Australians. 'What I hear from the community is there have been many task forces, there have been many talkfests, many conversations and many words. What they are really calling for is action,' she said, alongside shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser and finance spokesperson James Paterson. Ms Ley also called for stronger state hate speech laws, which would prohibit people from chanting phrases like 'death to Israel,' and said calls for a national cabinet meeting to tackle anti-Semitism were a 'good suggestion'. 'There shouldn't be an ability for people to chant the words 'death' and I won't complete the phase, on the streets of Melbourne, and it just be accepted,' she said. 'It is not a protest, it is hate – pure hate and we need to have laws and levers and I would respectfully ask the Premier of Victoria to consider how she might instruct law enforcement in a way that allows a stronger intervention.'
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Anthony Albanese defends Labor's action against anti-Semitism after Melbourne synagogue fire
Anthony Albanese has defended Labor's track record of working and responding to anti-Semitic attacks on the Jewish community, amid attacks from the opposition that there have been too many 'talkfests' and not enough 'action'. While quizzed by journalists in Hobart on Tuesday, the Prime Minister snapped back at a reporter who said Jewish community leaders had claimed the government's response was 'insufficient'. The questions were in response to an alleged arson attack on the East Melbourne Synagogue on Friday night, 'Who is saying that?' asked in response, and said he had spoken to community leaders on Saturday. 'Every time there has been a request, it has been met, expeditiously,' he said. 'On Saturday, one of the reasons why this gentleman has been caught so quickly is because the CCTV that was in place there was as a direct result of Commonwealth Government funding.' Mr Albanese also rejected calls for him to convene national cabinet in response to Friday's alleged arson attack. 'Every time an issue comes up, people say, let's have a national cabinet. Let's be clear. What people want is not a meeting. They want action,' Mr Albanese said. Mr Albanese's comments comes after Executive Council of the Australian Jewry president Alex Ryvchin urged the government to adopt its 15-point plan to 'defeat anti-Semitism' in Australia. The plan includes calls for anti-Semitism education in the national curriculum and urges Labor to declare a National Emergency and establish a Joint Counter-Terrorism Taskforce to 'fight against anti-Semitic terror before we have a major terror attack in this country'. Speaking later on Tuesday following a visit to the East Melbourne Synagogue, Sussan Ley maintained the Albanese government was not doing enough to protect Jewish-Australians. 'What I hear from the community is there have been many task forces, there have been many talkfests, many conversations and many words. What they are really calling for is action,' she said, alongside shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser and finance spokesperson James Paterson. Ms Ley also called for stronger state hate speech laws, which would prohibit people from chanting phrases like 'death to Israel,' and said calls for a national cabinet meeting to tackle anti-Semitism were a 'good suggestion'. 'There shouldn't be an ability for people to chant the words 'death' and I won't complete the phase, on the streets of Melbourne, and it just be accepted,' she said. 'It is not a protest, it is hate – pure hate and we need to have laws and levers and I would respectfully ask the Premier of Victoria to consider how she might instruct law enforcement in a way that allows a stronger intervention.'
