Hate speech translates into hate action

The Bondi beach massacre on 14 December is part of the global intifada. It means kill Jews wherever and whenever you can. The aim of those making this call is to “make them afraid”. That is what happened on the first night of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach. People were killed because of who they are. They were not random victims of terror. They were murdered for being Jewish. Among the dead were two rabbis, a ten-year old girl (one of the terrorists used a rifle equipped with a long-range scope) and a Holocaust survivor who in his final moments shielded his wife and saved her life. It’s noteworthy that several Arab states, such as Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon have condemned the antisemitic massacre at Bondi.

The Hamas 7 October attack marked the first round of a global campaign against Jews. The hatred that led to Bondi is the same hatred. Israel’s National Security Council has just warned that “experience shows there is concern about copycat actions by supporters of terrorism who may be inspired by the (Bondi) event.”The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies  has in effect suggested that our Jewish community make itself “small”. It’s recommended that all communal institutions, including synagogues, early learning centres and kosher restaurants, are closed until further notice. This is a dreadful situation for Australia’s Jewish community to find themselves in. It’s a community that has given so much to the progress of this nation in so many fields. We should be asking what the basic causes are driving the need for Australian Jews to take such security precautions.

Former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg has pointed out that “the last two years have seen a tsunami of hate that has left the local Jewish community feeling abandoned and alone’. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has correctly observed that,

We have a government that sees antisemitism as a problem to be managed, not evil that needs to be eradicated.

In February this year the Director-General of ASIO, Mike Burgess, said fighting antisemitism had become his agency’s top priority in terms of threats to life we’re seeing being played out in this country. Australia was warned by Israel and our terrorism experts of the intentions to target Jewish sites on our soil. It’s the scenario Australian Jews feared. The Jewish community pleaded for a crackdown on those supporting antisemitism in universities and the weekly marches.  Our authorities failed to act. Their silence sent a message that it’s ok. This strategy never works. 

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry recently reported antisemitism incidents here were nearly five times higher than the annual averages recorded before the Hamas 7 October attack. While criticism of Israel during the Gaza war could be expected the wave of antisemitism grew alarmingly. As the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein observed; “We have warned that verbal abuse becomes graffiti, becomes arson, becomes physical violence, becomes murder. We have begged our political leaders to stop offering just sentiments and start providing real, effective action. And now we have murdered Jews at a Jewish community function.”

The heroic civilian who attacked and disarmed the terrorist, Ahmed El Ahmad, was shot and wounded and risked his life to save others, as did our first responders. If only our government could show the same moral courage.

It failed to act even on the recommendations of its own antisemitism envoy report in July, such as stripping funding from institutions failing to fight Jewish hate, monitoring media organisations and reviewing Australia’s hate speech laws. 

An excellent role model for our Prime Minister to emulate in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi attack is former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern and her brilliant performance  after the 2019 Christchurch Mosque massacres. Her response drew global praise. Her tagline, “They are us” was Ardern’s powerful slogan for encapsulating inclusiveness of the Muslim minority. Ardern instinctively reached out and physically embraced Muslim men and women survivors and relatives of the massacre. 

In these dark times we must continue to focus on eradicating the poison of antisemitism. As Professor Rory Medcalf, Head of the ANU National Security College  observed in a statement issued on behalf of the NSC on the Bondi terrorist attack:

Many voices say this outrage will change Australia permanently. It should – only not in the way the perpetrators wanted.

We can no longer tolerate what’s become intolerable.