Australian lawmaker Andrew Wallace said on Wednesday that there has never been a more important time to support Israel and the Australian Jewish community.
Addressing the Australia-Israel Allies Caucus, which he chairs, at Parliament House in Canberra, Wallace said: “Australia is facing an antisemitism crisis, and it is incumbent upon all Australians—and especially those elected to lead the country—that we stand up, speak up and show up for Israel and the Jewish people.”
The remarks come after video footage emerged on Wednesday of two Australians nurses threatening to murder any Israelis under their care, and claiming to have already done so. Australia has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents over the last year, including the torching of two synagogues and vandalism of homes, vehicles and a childcare center.
“The world is watching—allies and competitors alike,” the lawmaker continued. “We must have each other’s backs in the fight against antisemitism.”
Jewish community leaders in Australia have attributed the sharp rise in antisemitic incidents amid Israel’s 15-month war with Hamas in Gaza to inaction or hostility on the part of the Labor-led government.
“The vast majority of Australians support Israel and are dismayed by the actions of the present Labor government in both their voting pattern in the United Nations, their public statements and their lack of action to quell the resurgence of antisemitism by criminal minorities in the country, " Danny Lamm, former president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told JNS on Thursday.
Wallace, who is part of a network of more than four dozen faith-based Israel caucuses in parliaments around the globe, said that it is “for such a time as this” that such alliances are needed.
“Australia and Israel are two pioneering and freedom-loving nations sharing a rich Judeo-Christian and democratic tradition,” said the MP. “There has never been a more important time for political leaders to support Israel and the Jewish community in Australia,” he added.
After months of attacks directed at the Jewish community, Australia‘s parliament last week enacted stringent laws to address hate crimes, introducing mandatory minimum sentences for terrorism offenses and the display of hate symbols.
