Taskforce promises action after anti-Semitic attacks

Perth Now

a day ago

An anti-hate taskforce has met for the first time in the wake of a spate of incidents involving Jewish institutions in a major capital city.
The taskforce, set up by the Victorian government, heard from a number of stakeholders, including police, Premier Jacinta Allan revealed on Wednesday.
It listened to members of the Jewish community, including Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler, all of whom shared their views on how the state can tackle anti-Semitism.
It also heard from Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush on the force's readiness to act on the criminal components of the Anti-Vilification and Social Cohesion Act.
Members were also told about the work of the government's Local Escalation and Help group, set up to facilitate communication between community leaders and the government.
"We also discussed the importance of education in combatting anti-Semitism," Ms Allan said in a statement.
"We agreed if there were further action we needed to take to keep Victorians safe, we will not hesitate to take it."
Ms Allan said the government would introduce to parliament as soon as possible new laws aimed at "stamping out extreme, dangerous and radical public demonstrations."
The taskforce will meet again in the coming weeks.
The meeting came after worshippers were forced to flee the East Melbourne Synagogue after it was firebombed on the same night Israeli restaurant Miznon in the CBD was targeted by pro-Palestine protesters.
Sydney man Angelo Loras, 34, has been charged over Friday night's synagogue firebombing.
But Palestinian Australians have accused leaders of political silence, suspicion, hostility or surveillance when it comes to their plight and say they are met with protest crackdowns and threatened with repressive laws.
"There have been no task forces, no public statements of care for Palestinians as they watch their loved ones massacred by the genocidal state of Israel, or are targeted by anti-Palestinian racism here in Australia," Australian Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni said on Tuesday.
Mr Mashni demanded political leaders stop criminalising Palestinian resistance, grief and political expression and engage in meaningful consultation and inclusion in decisions that affect their lives and rights.
"The longer political leaders ignore and avoid us, the more obvious their double standards become," he said.
Miznon's owners have spoken of the "profound impact" of the incident on Friday.
The demonstration outside the Hardware Lane restaurant ended with protesters smashing a glass door, up-ending tables and throwing chairs.
About 20 protesters converged on the restaurant, some chanting "death to the IDF" in reference to the Israel Defence Forces.
Police on Tuesday charged a 50-year-old Richmond man, a 48-year-old Footscray woman and a 28-year-old Essendon woman with assault, affray, riotous behaviour and criminal damage after another person was arrested and then released for hindering police that night.
The restaurant said the actions of a few had caused much distress to customers, patrons and staff in neighbouring restaurants.
"We respect everyone's right to their own nationality and religion. We ask for the same," the owners said in an Instagram post.
Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance have claimed responsibility for the protest.
Other offenders on Saturday spray-painted cars with anti-Semitic "inferences" then set them alight in the city's northeast, while a fourth incident involved offensive images spray-painted on pillars and walls near a Holocaust museum in Elsternwick.