Former PM John Howard slams Anthony Albanese for failure to ‘unite’ and ‘repudiate’ anti-Semitism

Former prime minister John Howard has charged Anthony Albanese with not doing enough to “repudiate” anti-Semitism in the wake of last year’s October 7 attacks on Israel.

• Australia threatened by an anti-Jewish hate

Former prime minister John Howard has charged Anthony Albanese with not doing enough to “repudiate” anti-Semitism in the wake of last year’s October 7 attacks on Israel, it can be revealed, as Holocaust survivors pleaded with the government to do more to stop attacks on the Jewish community.

“The prime minister of this country didn’t say, whatever our differences are on other issues, one thing we must unite on is to completely repudiate any return of antisemitism,” Mr Howard said.

“I believe that if from the beginning that these horrible events of the 7th of October had been denounced in unequivocal terms, no buts, maybes, no equivalence, none of that, from the very beginning, you would not have had these outbreaks, because part of the role of being a leader of a country is to set a tone.”

Mr Howard made the remarks to Sky News for the upcoming documentary Never Again: The Fight Against Antisemitism.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and former PM John Howard. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The comments come amid growing concerns about anti-Jewish attacks in the community.

Over the weekend a Jewish school in Melbourne was hit with vile anti-Semitic graffiti with the words “Die Jew” painted on the wall of Mount Scopus School’s Burwood campus.

Sky documentary will also speak to Holocaust survivors worried about a rise in anti-Jewish sentiment with parallels to 1930s Germany.

Survivor Nina Bassat urged Mr Albanese, “Open your eyes and open your mind and open your heart …. Speak out on the right side of history.”

Fellow survivor Mimi Wise, asked what she would tell the prime minister, said, “We only want the best for this country. And you need to be a good leader. Lead. Lead.”

“A leader is someone who takes risks too. So lead.”

On Sunday it was reported that Mr Albanese’s government would introduce new anti-vilification laws to crack down on hate speech.

Speaking to Mr Frydenberg for the documentary, the prime minister said, “Violence has no role ever, nor does any threatening of people because of who they are, nor as well has some of the specific targeting that has occurred.”

Of local Holocaust survivors, Mr Albanese said, “you honour us with your presence here and with the contribution that you have made.”

Never Again: The Fight Against Antisemitism. Premieres Tuesday, May 28, at 7pm AEST. Stream at SkyNews.com.au or download the Sky News Australia app

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