Melbourne synagogue fire shows Australia's multicultural project needs urgent help

Australia Broadcast Center

6 hours ago

The attacks on Jewish people in Melbourne on Friday night should send chills down the spines of all Australians — Jewish and non-Jewish — who value diversity, culture and the right to be safe.
The Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was right to describe it as an attack on Australia.
Australians pride themselves on being fierce defenders of multiculturalism.
You will often hear ministers on both sides of politics describe our nation as the greatest multicultural country on Earth.
We are right to aspire to this standing but it is highly contestable that we have achieved it.
One of the powerful things people have consistently demanded of our leaders is a rejection of the false binary that would have us choose between our Australian identity and our cultural or religious roots.
The Albanese government in its second term re-established its commitment to multiculturalism, but our multicultural project needs urgent help.
The targeting of Australian Jews for the atrocities of a government far away is not only illegal, it is deeply antisemitic and immoral.
It demonstrates that the social compact we have has been eroded and, without deep intellectual, moral and financial investment, it will only get worse.
Would we accept attacks on Russian Orthodox churches in Australia for Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion and war on Ukraine? Would we be OK with groups storming Russian restaurants? I think we know the answer to both of these questions.
We must reject the false binaries that are demanded of us from some elements of this movement.
I have seen online a view that we should only and exclusively be concerned about the death and destruction in Gaza, that by even discussing the anti-Jewish attacks in Australia, we have somehow made a choice to accept what we see unfold in the Middle East. It's time to call out this dangerous binary.
This is a false and despicable choice by bad-faith actors unwilling to confront the frightening position they are putting Australian Jews in.
Attacking Jews in restaurants, in synagogues and on our streets is deeply rooted in anti-Jewish sentiment and in antisemitism.
What else are we to make of these heinous acts?
How can it be an act of political expression and protest to target your fellow citizens?
What kind of cognitive dissonance and radicalisation has happened to convince anyone that this behaviour is anything other than violent hate?
Speaking outside the historic Albert Street synagogue in East Melbourne, Burke implied the fire was motivated by a desire to instil terror within the Jewish community.
He said Victoria Police was unable to declare it as such at this stage because it was working to establish a motive.
But he went on to say: "I think every Australian has a view, and we probably all have the same view as to where that will end up, but we leave that with the Victorian Police."
Burke declined to respond to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks or calls from the Coalition for a meeting of state and federal leaders to tackle antisemitism, saying unity was more important than political argy-bargy.
"What we see in the door that's behind me is an attack on Australia," Burke said.
"There's been some reporting that no-one was physically injured. That doesn't mean no-one was harmed. The community here was harmed. The Jewish community in Australia was harmed, and we were harmed as a nation."
While people have every right to express their anger at the Israeli government's prolonged war through peaceful protest and highlight the injustices experienced by Palestinians, by children, nothing justifies what we are seeing in Melbourne.
And to suggest that people repulsed by this behaviour somehow don't care about the children of Gaza is an absurd narrative that has been constructed only to justify the unjustifiable.
This "debate" has often been framed through a political lens.
The opposition is calling for stronger action from the government, suggesting the Albanese government has dropped the ball on antisemitism.
Shadow Attorney-General Julian Leeser reacted to the attack on Saturday by saying world leaders had acknowledged a need to step up security for the Jewish community given this conflict that's going on.
"But our government never said anything and we wanted to put the prime minister on notice that we needed to do what other world leaders have done," he said.
"And I don't know that he's done what he can here and it's for him to answer those questions."
The prime minister says antisemitism has no place in Australia.
"Those responsible for these shocking acts must face the full force of the law and my government will provide all necessary support toward this effort."
The government and our leaders have a key role in setting the tone and establishing the tangible action they are prepared to take.
But there is also a collective responsibility we all have to ensure that our neighbours and friends feel like they belong as equal free citizens in our country.
Think about that 13-year-old kid who saw the fire at the door of the synagogue.
Melbourne and Australia must be better than this.
Patricia Karvelas is the host of ABC News Afternoon Briefing at 4pm weekdays on ABC News Channel, co-host of the weekly Party Room podcast with Fran Kelly, and host of politics and news podcast Politics Now.