The Times Australia
The Times World News

.

Whatever the government does, Albanese struggles to strike the right note in antisemitism battle

  • Written by Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra



Anthony Albanese points to the array of measures his government has taken to tackle the scourge of antisemitism. But he can’t escape the impression of seeming perennially on the back foot and often lacking adequate empathy and sensitivity in dealing with the issue.

On the latter point, take Australia’s representation to next week’s commemoration in Poland marking 80 years since the last people were freed from Auschwitz.

It’s a major international event, with King Charles and some national leaders, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, attending. The Australian government is sending two cabinet ministers: Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.

Dreyfus, as the most senior Jewish member of the government, is a logical attendee. But Wong is a controversial choice. She is regarded negatively by many in the Australian Jewish community who, to put it bluntly, see her as unsympathetic to Israel and too influential with the PM.

Wong is travelling to Poland on her way back from the Trump inauguration. That might be convenient. But surely it would have been more appropriate and astute to have chosen Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles to lead the Australian delegation to Poland. Marles commands considerable respect in the Jewish community (and also outranks Wong).

This week Albanese suddenly reversed his firm opposition to calling a national cabinet meeting on antisemitism, convening one immediately in the wake of the attack on a Sydney childcare centre. The meeting was long overdue but something of a farce, held in haste and producing the underwhelming decision to set up a national database of antisemitic incidents. That just invited the question: why didn’t we have such a database long ago?

The national cabinet followed calls from, among many others, the government’s own special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal – calls that should have been listened to earlier. But Albanese had argued people wanted action rather than meetings, and that he was consulting with the premiers of NSW and Victoria, where the attacks have been concentrated.

The delay in calling a national cabinet was a repeat of Albanese dragging his feet last year on setting up a special operations force led by the Australian Federal Police.

Albanese was once again put in the shade this week by NSW Premier Chris Minns, when the two appeared at a news conference after the torching of the childcare centre.

Minns, who declared the perpetrators of the crime “bastards”, sounded assertive; Albanese looked the minor player, feeding into the federal opposition’s general attack on him as a “weak” leader.

The government is feeling the heat on multiple fronts to get on top of the antisemitism crisis, with Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel (who once worked as a veterinary nurse in Bondi) launching fresh criticism this week, saying provocatively: “What are they waiting for? For someone to die? For someone to be murdered?”

It’s not just the government that’s under increasing pressure. So are the police (federal and state) and ASIO.

Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw was anxious this week to demonstrate the police were achieving some successes, and to say they anticipated more in the near future. As much as anything, the message was a plea for the community, and especially the Jewish community, to be patient.

Kershaw revealed the AFP believes “criminals for hire” may be behind some incidents, adding: “So part of our inquiries include: who is paying those criminals, where those people are – whether they are in Australia or offshore – and what their motivation is.”

Despite this tantalising piece of information, the impression is the agencies are largely in the dark about the intricacies of this wave of antisemitism. There doesn’t appear (so far) to be evidence of foreign actors, state or non-state, or domestic extremist organisations being the drivers.

For many voters, while they condemn the wave of antisemitism, it remains a niche issue. But it feeds into wider, easily triggered, concerns about crime and security, and that helps Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

The Australian Financial Review’s latest Freshwater poll asked people to rank priority areas on which the government should focus. Crime and social order ranked fifth out of 16 issues; 26% of people put it in their top three. It has an eight-point lead over the issue of environment and climate change.

Dutton has promised the Coalition would legislate for mandatory minimum sentences for antisemitic crimes. That may go down well with some voters, but despite the circumstances and the fact courts can be too lenient (Minns complained strongly this week about one NSW sentence), it would be bad policy, robbing the legal system of flexibility to take account of individual circumstances.

While the authorities and the headlines are rightly focused on the antisemitism crisis, the government’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia is warning against letting the absence of dramatic attacks blind people to the presence of that menace.

Writing in The Australian, Aftab Malik said that during extensive travels around the country late last year, he found “a landscape in which Islamophobia was an ordinary daily experience for many Muslims.

"Thankfully, it wasn’t that mosques were being torched or cars vandalised.” But, he argues, “The ordinariness of Islamophobia is what is so disturbing, the normalcy of hate endured out of the media spotlight”.

If Dutton became prime minister, we know he would be stronger on antisemitism, and would move to repair relations with Israel. With the polls now giving the Coalition a chance of victory, or at least of running the government close, we need to know more about how a Dutton government would rebuild Australia’s social cohesion more broadly, including dealing with Islamophobia and managing and fostering multiculturalism.

The opposition’s current approach is to downplay Islamophobia on the grounds we are not seeing dramatic incidents of the kind we are currently witnessing with antisemitism. But a Coalition wanting to promote community harmony should not ignore or dismiss its risks, even while attention is firmly on the more dramatic and visible disease.

Read more https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-whatever-the-government-does-albanese-struggles-to-strike-the-right-note-in-antisemitism-battle-248120

Times Magazine

Building a Strong Online Presence with Katoomba Web Design

Katoomba web design is more than just creating a website that looks good—it’s about building an onli...

September Sunset Polo

International Polo Tour To Bridge Historic Sport, Life-Changing Philanthropy, and Breath-Taking Beau...

5 Ways Microsoft Fabric Simplifies Your Data Analytics Workflow

In today's data-driven world, businesses are constantly seeking ways to streamline their data anal...

7 Questions to Ask Before You Sign IT Support Companies in Sydney

Choosing an IT partner can feel like buying an insurance policy you hope you never need. The right c...

Choosing the Right Legal Aid Lawyer in Sutherland Shire: Key Considerations

Legal aid services play an essential role in ensuring access to justice for all. For people in t...

Watercolor vs. Oil vs. Digital: Which Medium Fits Your Pet's Personality?

When it comes to immortalizing your pet’s unique personality in art, choosing the right medium is ...

The Times Features

The Role of Spinal Physiotherapy in Recovery and Long-Term Wellbeing

Back pain and spinal conditions are among the most common reasons people seek medical support, oft...

Italian Lamb Ragu Recipe: The Best Ragù di Agnello for Pasta

Ciao! It’s Friday night, and the weekend is calling for a little Italian magic. What’s better than t...

It’s OK to use paracetamol in pregnancy. Here’s what the science says about the link with autism

United States President Donald Trump has urged pregnant women[1] to avoid paracetamol except in ...

How much money do you need to be happy? Here’s what the research says

Over the next decade, Elon Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire[1]. The Tesla board ...

NSW has a new fashion sector strategy – but a sustainable industry needs a federally legislated response

The New South Wales government recently announced the launch of the NSW Fashion Sector Strategy...

From Garden to Gift: Why Roses Make the Perfect Present

Think back to the last time you gave or received flowers. Chances are, roses were part of the bunch...

Do I have insomnia? 5 reasons why you might not

Even a single night of sleep trouble can feel distressing and lonely. You toss and turn, stare...

Wedding Photography Trends You Need to Know (Before You Regret Your Album)

Your wedding album should be a timeless keepsake, not something you cringe at years later. Trends ma...

Can you say no to your doctor using an AI scribe?

Doctors’ offices were once private. But increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) scribes (al...