Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel hits out at Australia after meeting with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus

The senior Israeli government member lashed Labor for its “clearly ineffectual” response towards rising levels of anti-Semitism.

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel has given a sharp rebuke towards the Albanese government for contributing to the “shocking rise in anti-Semitism” after meetings with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.

Last week, Mr Dreyfus, who is the government’s most senior Jewish minister, travelled to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel and Ramallah in the West Bank for high-level meetings with the Israeli government and Palestinian authorities.

Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel (right) accused the Australian government of having an ‘ongoing campaign against Israel’ following her meeting with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. Picture: Supplied

While Mr Dreyfus said he was “warmly welcomed” by members, and spruiked Australia’s “very strong friendship” with Israel, Ms Haskel said she used the meeting to express her “disappointment with the shift in the Australian government’s attitude towards Israel”.

“I emphasised our deep concern regarding the shocking rise in anti-Semitism in Australia and the clearly ineffectual response from the Australian government and state governments,” she shared on X alongside a photo of them shaking hands.

“There is no doubt this has been caused in part by the Australian government’s ongoing campaign against Israel.

“I expressed my expectation and hope that Australia’s policy towards Israel will return to reflecting our longstanding relations based on shared values and interests.”

I met in Jerusalem last week with the Australian Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus MP.

I expressed to him my disappointment with the shift in then Australian government’s attitude towards Israel.

I emphasised our deep concern regarding the shocking rise in antisemitism in… pic.twitter.com/7CLcx0xPUi

— Sharren Haskel השכל שרן (@SharrenHaskel) January 19, 2025

While in Israel, Mr Dreyfus denied there had been any tensions in his meetings with the Israeli government, including talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Ronen Hoffman.

“I’ve been warmly welcomed in all of the meetings that I’ve had. There’s been a very strong friendship between our countries since Israel was founded by the United Nations,” Mr Dreyfus told ABC radio on Friday.

“And what I’ve felt in all of the meetings is that we should be strengthening that already strong relationship between Australia and Israel.

“Israeli ministers have, of course, raised some issues but in a very constructive way.”

In recent days, Australia’s Jewish community has been hit by a wave of vandalism, with community leaders from both sides urging calm.

Last week, a synagogue in Newtown, in Sydney’s inner west, was covered in swastikas and anti-Semitic messages, with police confirming an accelerant had been used in the attack.

On Friday, the former Dover Heights home of Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin was attacked with red paint, with vandals also painting anti-Semitic slurs on cars and setting two on fire.

Alex Ryvchin told media he feared anti-Semitism was ‘now becoming the norm’ after his former home was attacked by vandals. Picture: NewsWire/ John Appleyard

In comments to media, he feared anti-Semitism was “now becoming the norm”.

“We’ve been saying for so long, things like this can’t be normalised,” he said.

“When we wake up every day and it’s another place being hit, it is the norm, and we have to wake up to the fact that, sadly, this is who we are.

“(The attack) shows that we’re in a very dangerous state, and it’s not a long step from what we’re seeing here to people being personally targeted and people being killed.”