Albanese says antisemitic ‘cowards’ will be ‘hunted down, locked up’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has branded the perpetrators of antisemitic attacks “cowards” who will be “hunted down and locked up”, as Israel’s foreign minister accused Australian authorities of allowing attacks on Jews to run rampant.

While police probed the discovery of a caravan packed with explosives and containing the address of a Sydney synagogue, the federal government’s special envoy on antisemitism, Jillian Segal, declared the finding of the vehicle a chilling reminder of the hatred that led to the Holocaust.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pictured last week.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“There’s zero tolerance in Australia for hatred and for antisemitism, and I want any perpetrators to be hunted down and locked up - it’s as simple as that,” Albanese said on Thursday as he defended his government’s handling of antisemitism.

“They have no place in this sort of engagement. It’s designed to create fear and terror in the community, and it will not succeed. Because our community is stronger than the cowards who engage in this sort of activity.”

Albanese’s comments came after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the caravan discovery was “intolerable” and declared that an “epidemic of antisemitism is spreading in Australia almost unchecked”.

“This joins a long list of antisemitic attacks in Australia, including setting fire to a childcare centre in Sydney, firebombing a synagogue in Melbourne, and many other antisemitic attacks,” Sa’ar said in a post on X.

“We expect the Australian government to do more to stop this disease!”

Asked about Sa’ar’s comments, Albanese defended the response to the rise in attacks targeted at the Jewish community, telling ABC radio: “People are in the clink ... people are being arrested. Investigations are taking place. The police and authorities are doing their job.”

The Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which combines state and Commonwealth agencies, has taken over the investigation and assigned more than 100 officers.

ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said the national threat level would remain at “probable”, rather than elevated to “expected” as he noted the current level is the same as at the height of the Islamic State caliphate.

“While the caravan matter in New South Wales remains under police investigation, ASIO does not believe there is an ongoing threat to public safety,” he said.

Burgess said: “We have seen a disturbing escalation in the targeting of Jewish interests and a disturbing escalation in the severity and recklessness of the targeting, with general harassment and intimidation moving to the targeting of people and places.”

Albanese said he agreed with suggestions that this was terrorism, saying: “It’s clearly designed to harm people, but it’s also designed to create fear in the community, and that is a very [clear] definition as it comes in.”

Special envoy on antisemitism Jillian Segal.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Segal said the incident was a “chilling reminder that the same hatred that led to the murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust still exists today”.

“The discovery in Sydney will only heighten the fear and anxiety within the Jewish community,” she said.

“With weekly protests marked by antisemitism, along with threats to property and attacks on places of worship, today’s events are yet another escalation. This hatred must stop.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers apologised for appearing to downplay the Jewish community’s concerns about antisemitism in television and radio interviews on Thursday in which he said their fears were “not always unfounded”.

His comments offended some members of the Jewish community, who felt he was suggesting their concerns about antisemitism had sometimes been overblown.

“I’ve had that relayed to me and I apologise,” Chalmers said.

“My intention was to share and acknowledge the very real and understandable fears and concerns in the Jewish community in light of recent events.

“I could have and should have expressed that more clearly, and I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Albanese had taken too long to make tackling antisemitism a national priority, saying members of the Jewish community were “completely disgusted with the prime minister’s inaction”.

“Should we act surprised that has escalated now to an attempted terrorist attack?” Dutton told reporters in Alice Springs.

“No, we shouldn’t. The prime minister needs to show national leadership here to deal with the national crisis, and so far there’s been no sign of it.

The Zionist Federation of Australia said the caravan discovery was “undoubtedly the most severe threat to the Jewish community in Australia to date”.

“The plot, if executed, would likely have resulted in the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil,” the federation said.

“For 16 months, the Jewish community has been warning that unchecked incitement, violent rhetoric, and weak leadership have created the perfect environment for extremism and terrorism to flourish.

“This foiled attack is yet another manifestation of the senseless hatred and violence that continues to target our community.”

Liberal senator Dave Sharma, a former ambassador to Israel, said the response from Australian law enforcement authorities and political leaders to the rise of antisemitism had been “manifestly inadequate”.

“The Labor government needs to address this crisis with the urgency, resources and full legal power that it requires. There can be no more soft-pedalling, equivocation or political pandering in our response,” he said.

“Otherwise, Australia will soon become unrecognisable, a nation where extremist actors are allowed to threaten the life and liberty of our many communities, and no one feels safe.”

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.