Josh Frydenberg: Anti-Semitism being unchecked in Australia is an election issue, Anthony Albanese

Josh Frydenberg in the beach town of Lorne in Victoria. Picture: The Australian / Nadir Kinani

A few weeks back I found myself walking with some friends into a local watering hole in the Victorian country town of Nagambie, population 2300.

A local woman stopped me. “Mate,” she said. “I watched your documentary on anti-Semitism and I want you to know you’re not alone. I stand with you.”

They were warm and genuine words, the type I am hearing increasingly from everyday Australians. Sentiment is shifting as Australians are alert to the fact that what has been happening in our country across the past 15 months is just not on.

Attacks on Jewish places of worship, Jewish schools, Jewish-owned businesses and Jewish artists, among many others, are not isolated incidents but, sadly, daily occurrences. Holocaust survivors are seeing alarming parallels with the Europe they witnessed in the 1930s, as events here at home have led to unprecedented international travel warnings being issued, calling for Jewish people to reconsider visiting Australia.

Tragically, anti-Semitism is becoming normalised for the first time in our history, compelling one of the nation’s most distinguished citizens, former governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove, to say: “Hitler would be proud.”

But there are signs the silent majority are starting to find their voice, with more people recognising that rising anti-Semitism threatens not only the relatively small Australian Jewish community but the safety, security and values of our entire community.

Sporting champions, business leaders, media figures and religious leaders are publicly calling out anti-Semitism as not just un-Australian but anti-Australian for the division and violence it is now creating. Just days ago in these pages the president of the Hindu Council of Australia called for “firm action” and “decisive leadership” to “stamp out anti-Semitism”, saying the rise in Jew hate was “not just a problem for Jews but for people of all faiths and for Australia”.

It was an important intervention from a national leader of Australia’s fastest growing religion that the government chooses to ignore at its peril.

Ever since the barbaric Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, our governments, federal and state, have done too little, too late, to protect the community from the rising tide of hate, preferring to turn the other cheek, avoiding the hard decisions and hoping the problem will just go away. But it hasn’t. It has become only worse as those who hate and those who harm have been emboldened by the inaction.

But now, with the new year upon us and a federal election soon to be called, we the voters have an opportunity to hear from our leaders what they will do differently to take back the streets and protect the public from the mob.

While cost of living as an election issue is paramount, domestic safety and security are too.

Unlike previous electoral cycles, this time social cohesion is on the ballot paper – and the party that promises real action will be rewarded. More of the same will not cut it. Neither will more empty words. What is required is the law to be enforced and, where necessary, the law to be strengthened.

We need a government that is proactive, not reactive. A government that anticipates, not prevaricates. A government that is strong, not weak. A government that takes responsibility to restore Australia to what it was and what we should all want it to be.

No more tolerance for people who openly call Jews “Nazis”, celebrate the atrocities of October 7, wave terrorist flags, chant “globalise the intifada” and call for the abolition of the state of Israel.

These people are not Israel’s problem, they are Australia’s problem. They have no impact on the Middle East, contribute nothing to a balanced legitimate debate and sow only domestic division and hate.

If the federal government thinks it can sidestep this issue it is wrong. Every week there are numerous examples of how the government’s failure to take decisive action is infecting our daily lives. People are taking notice. People are fed up.

There have been disruptive demonstrators at everything from the Myer Christmas windows to performances by American comedian Jerry Seinfeld, from the local university campus to the main shopping strip of our local CBD. And now we learn this week that Ice Hockey Australia is no longer hosting the Men’s World Championships in Melbourne because of the violent protests Israel’s participation is expected to attract.

In the leaked email, Ice Hockey Australia’s president is reported as saying: “It was concluded just prior to Christmas that we could not host due to significant safety and security risks associated with Israel’s participation.”

It’s unbelievable that here in Australia, a country known as the sporting capital of the world, authorities could not stand up for what is right and deliver for the athletes and spectators a safe event.

All Anthony Albanese could say in response was how “unfortunate” it was the championships were cancelled, when in reality it is a disgrace. Another shameful episode on the government’s watch, projecting our weakness abroad and confirming our lack of security here at home.

Australia has a proud history as a tolerant, harmonious, multicultural nation. But across the past 15 months our reputation has been tarnished as our leaders have failed to act.

Now, as we start a new year and approach the federal election, politicians and the public alike have an opportunity to turn a new page and reclaim what has been lost.

Josh Frydenberg is the former federal treasurer and host of the Sky News documentary Never Again: The Fight Against Antisemitism.