Prime Minister Anthony Albanese snubs Jewish Australian community's antisemitism plan after synagogue attack
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
'It must stop': Former prime minister Tony Abbott calls for stronger action to stamp out 'pro-Hamas' protests, antisemitic attacks
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has claimed stronger action is needed to crackdown on antisemitism in the wake of fresh attacks on the Jewish community. On Tuesday, Mr Abbott called for a blanket ban on 'pro-Hamas' protests from carrying on across Australia and urged police to take harder stance. After visiting the synagogue in east Melbourne which was the target of last week's attempted arson attack, Mr Abbott told Sky News host Peta Credlin Jewish Australians had been 'under relentless attack' since October 7, 2023. 'It must stop - and all we've had up till now is largely impotent hand wringing from people in authority,' Mr Abbott said. 'Just as the police cracked down hard on the freedom protests during the pandemic, there's nothing to stop them cracking down hard these pro-Hamas, Jew-hatred protests. They've been going on for far too long. 'We can't tolerate it. They must be stopped. They must never be allowed to happen again and if the police object, the Premier should just say: 'I'm sorry, this is an instruction from the elected and accountable government to officialdom, go and carry it out'.' Mr Abbott said it was not a question of freedom of speech and the right to protest, as demonstrators had gone after and blatantly intimidated 'decent, law-abiding Australians'. Former homicide detective Charlie Bezzina echoed those sentiments, telling Sky News the police force had become muzzled and 'over risk-averse'. Mr Bezzina said police were 'sitting in buses around the corner' during protests in Melbourne last week. The former detective added police should be able to 'react on the spot' if a splinter group of 20 agitators descend on a restaurant, as they did during that protest. There were a series of problems arising from lack of action until after the incident, he said, claiming it was a 'bad look' and could lead to an unnecessary mental or physical injury. Mr Bezzina said Victoria's lack of protest permit laws was partly the problem, as there was no accountability, and suggested splinter groups be traced back to the main demonstration which is held responsible for intimidation and disruptive activity. 'Now when you apply for another permit you're not going to get it because you're not controlling your own people, it's not for us. So ultimately there is no accountability , they run riot,' he said. ' My particular question is, what have you achieved? Apart from inconveniencing the community, the good people of this state, what have you achieve globally, internally?' Author Ayaan Hirsi Ali said the increasing trend of antisemitic incidents in Australia was more than just criminal activity. 'We're looking at political violence. We need to know where the mother bee of this is,' she said. Ms Ali said the problem began with educational institutions and universities, which were 'not providing education anymore'. 'We're not teaching the disciplines of math and science and history and civics and Western civilisation and humanities and classics. Now we have something called 'studies',' she said. 'These are all grievance studies. You get a degree in resentment.'
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Dean Smith: Birth rate in WA falls alongside the standard of living
The birth rate in WA is declining. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1,486 fewer babies were born here in 2024 than in 2023. The ABS also reveals WA's total fertility rate reached a record low of 1.57 babies per woman over the same period. It reinforces similar statistics released by the WA Government earlier this year, which confirmed that the number of births recorded here in 2024 was the lowest in nearly two decades. At the same time, there has been a record surge in the State's population, with a growth rate of 2.4 per cent — the largest annual growth rate of any Australian State or Territory in 2024. Most of that was international or interstate migration, with the ABS reporting the natural increase in the WA population, which factors in births and deaths, was just 2602 for the December 2024 quarter. That is the lowest number recorded since the June 1981 quarter. It is no coincidence that, as the birthrate has been falling, so has the standard of living for West Australians. This is the reality of life under Anthony Albanese and Labor, who have failed to address a cost-of-living crisis that shows no sign of easing. What was once predominantly a personal decision — when or whether to start a family — is now increasingly an economic calculation. A growing number of WA couples are putting off having children or deciding not to have them at all, not because they do not want to, but because they feel they cannot afford it. It follows a trend of falling fertility rates across Australia, but one that is pronounced in our State — which, according to some economic markers, has also been one of the worst impacted by economic hardship since Labor came to power. Soaring rents, mortgages, groceries, childcare and education fees, and ever-increasing utility bills, are combining to form an economic wall that many young families are no longer willing or able to climb. Perth's median house price has risen to $781,000 according to REIWA. First home buyers, on average, must now save more than $150,000 for a 20 per cent deposit on a median-priced Perth house. Renters are not faring any better. Perth has one of the tightest rental markets in the country with vacancy rates hovering around 0.5 per cent. Average weekly rents have increased by more than 20 per cent over the past 12 months, pushing a growing number of people into housing insecurity. Due to a shortage of available rental properties, rent for a median-priced house increased by nearly $200 to $685 per week between 2022 and now. Wholesale electricity prices have doubled since 2021, impacting households, businesses, and individuals. A study of 2025-26 WA power bills by Econnex found a typical household using about 5700 kWh a year will pay just over $2200 annually. While residential customers have been shielded to an extent by subsidies, these are ending, and households will soon face the same cost increases that businesses have been experiencing. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that WA exports a large portion of its gas, leading to higher domestic prices. When you are facing these challenges, potentially living from pay-to-pay, the idea of taking time off work for maternity leave, let alone covering the ongoing costs of raising a child, is a daunting one. That is before you consider childcare and education expenses. Here in WA, out of pocket costs remain high, even after the Albanese Government's flawed subsidies programs. Full time child care for working parents in Perth can cost upwards of $500 a week, per child. For those without extended family support or flexible work options, the maths often does not add up. Even when considering public schooling, there is no such things as a 'free' education. Extra costs, including uniforms, technology, textbooks, excursions, camps, transport and even voluntary contributions, need to be considered, and the latest Futurity Investment Group Cost of Education Index reveals that Perth is Australia's second most expensive city for a State-funded public education. It is estimated the total cost of a public education here will be $122,106 over 13 years for a child starting school in 2025, an increase of 35 per cent compared to last year. This financial pressure is not evenly distributed and falls hardest on low-income families, single income households, and young people in insecure employment — the groups who have traditionally been more likely to have children earlier in life. While some might say this is simply a matter of choice, framing the decline in births as a lifestyle preference misses the point. The truth is that many WA families are not choosing to be child-free, they are being priced out of parenthood. This is a social shift with long term implications. Australia already faces a demographic time bomb, with an ageing population and shrinking workforce. If an increasing number of the younger generation feel they can no longer afford to have children, we risk entering a cycle of economic stagnation, where there are fewer taxpayers to fund the health, education, and other systems that underpin our society. That is why the Albanese Government needs to recognise this as not just a demographic concern but an urgent economic issue. Now re-elected with significant majority, it now has no excuse but to act. We need targeted policies to address cost-of-living pressures, including housing and energy. Our economy depends on people — on workers, parents, consumers, and carers. If WA is to remain a place where people can build full and flourishing lives, the decision to have children must be supported – not sidelined – by the economic reality. The next generation is already being shaped not by dreams of what is possible, but by fears of what is unaffordable. Until Labor changes that, the growing silence of empty nurseries across WA will speak volumes. Dean Smith is a Liberal Senator for WA.
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
ICC issues warrants for Taliban over female persecution
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls. The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, chief justice of the Taliban, had committed the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression. Since the Islamist Taliban returned to power in 2021 it has clamped down on women's rights, including limits to schooling, work and general independence in daily life. The Taliban condemned the warrants as an example of hostility towards Islam. "We neither recognise anything by the name of an international court nor do we consider ourselves bound by it," the Taliban government's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, added in a statement. It is the first time judges of the ICC have issued a warrant on charges of gender persecution. "While the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms," the court said. The full warrants and details on the specific incidents they are based on remain under seal to protect witnesses and victims, the court said. NGOs hailed the warrants and called on the international community to back the ICC's work. "The international community should fully back the ICC in its critical work in Afghanistan and globally, including through concerted efforts to enforce the court's warrants," Human Rights Watch International Justice director Liz Evenson, said in a statement. The ICC has been under increased criticism from non-member states such as the United States, Israel and Russia. Last year the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 on suspicion of deporting children from Ukraine. Neither Russia nor Israel is a member of the court and both deny the accusations and reject ICC jurisdiction. Last month the United States imposed sanctions on four ICC judges including two who were involved in a ruling that allowed prosecutors to open a formal investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, including alleged crimes committed by American troops. The ICC said it was an attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution that provides hope and justice to millions of victims.
