Labor not trusted to thwart rise in left’s anti-Semitism

Penny Wong and Labor leader Anthony Albanese at the Labor Party launch in Perth. Picture: Liam Kidston.

“Jews Don’t Count” – the blunt title of British comedian and writer David Baddiel’s bestseller – would be shocking, were it not such a banal statement in many Jewish circles today. Jews have, in recent years, come to realise they have been excluded from the progressive left’s fight against bigotry and inequality. At a time of heightened sensitivity to all isms and phobias, anti-Semitism has become largely ignored by the very movement claiming to oppose all forms of discrimination.

In such a climate, it’s perhaps unsurprising that, just weeks out from the federal election, much of Australian Jewry is wondering where an Albanese government would stand on Israel and anti-Semitism. With Scott Morrison having displayed total ineptitude in the fight for a fairer, more equal Australia, many eyes have rightfully turned to Labor. And yet, despite the Opposition Leader’s promise to do better on discrimination, increasingly loud voices within his party displaying open hostility towards the Jewish state have raised concerns over whether he can stay true to his word.

Many left-leaning parties in Western democracies have fallen victim to anti-Israel agitators of late – UK Labour under Jeremy Corbyn and the Democrats in the US are examples. And, while not to the same degree, Australian Labor is certainly not innocent. Whether claims of Israeli “apartheid” from deputy Senate president Sue Lines; assertions from Tasmanian senator Anne Urquhart that Jews employ accusations of anti-Semitism as a “cynical” tool to silence Israel’s critics; from NSW MP Anne Stanley’s fabricated claims of Israel “bombing” the Al-Aqsa Mosque; libel from Queensland MP Graham Perrett that Israel deliberately bombs children in Gaza; or a litany of other demonstrably false anti-Israel claims from Labor MPs, there is no denying Labor’s serious and growing problem of anti-Israel sentiment in its ranks.

Nor is this limited to individual members. At its state conference last June, Labor’s Queensland branch passed a motion condemning Israel for a variety of spurious charges – the “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”, among others – prompting a rebuke from the shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong. Speaking to The Australian about the motion, the Australia Israel Labor ­Dialogue’s Adam Slonim explained that the resolution ­“demonises Israel and creates a double standard that no one else is held to”, while also warning of “a growing strain of anti-­Semitism within the ALP”.

Anthony Albanese visited then UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2018.

These tensions between traditional and more extremist elements in Labor are no secret. Numerous commentators have discussed the increasingly polarised Israel debate inside the ALP, while many long-time Labor supporters are privately expressing dismay over the direction in which the party is heading vis-a-vis the Jewish state.

A Labor government under Albanese “would be a disaster for Israel”, a senior Labor figure, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told me, making particular reference to the party’s March 2021 national conference, which, in a move wholly detached from Middle Eastern realities, added recognition of a Palestinian state to Labor’s national platform as “an important priority for the next Labor government”.

On Anthony Albanese’s commitment to fighting anti-Semitism locally, the senior Labor figure put it simply: “People (in the Jewish community) don’t trust him.” This forms part of a broader pattern in the party, he explained, noting that those seeking to advance their Labor careers are forced to keep relatively quiet on Israel and anti-Semitism.

To their credit, Albanese and Wong have backed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism – a crucial tool in identifying anti-Jewish bigotry, particularly when it appears under the guise of “criticism” of Israel. They have also made clear their opposition to boycotting the Jewish state and the absurd accusation that Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians.

These are important steps, no doubt; but should Labor win the election – in what may well be a slim majority or an alliance with the notoriously anti-Israel Greens – questions will remain over Albanese’s ability to ward off the increasingly blaring and bold anti-Israel elements in his party and on the left more broadly.

And in perhaps his greatest test in the public square as Labor leader, he failed miserably. When, in December, the annual Sydney Festival became embroiled in controversy following an innocuous donation from the Israeli embassy and an ensuing vicious boycott campaign rife with anti-Jewish racism, it was the federal Labor leader’s silence that rang loudest. This was despite Jewish community requests for Albanese to condemn the boycott (Liberal support for Israel and the Jewish community was – as it has been time and again under Scott Morrison – unwavering).

Standing up for Israel and Australia’s Jewish community against internal troublemakers is commendable; but the true measure of Albanese’s strength on this issue is his willingness to take the same stance amid a fiery debate that captures the public’s attention and rouses the ire of many, particularly on the left. His failure to do so during the Sydney Festival ruckus leaves much to be desired.

Baddiel writes: “A sacred circle is drawn around those whom the progressive modern left are prepared to go into battle for, and it seems as if the Jews aren’t in it.” As for Albanese, the jury is out on whether a Labor government will include Jews in its circle, or if its extremist forces will succeed in pushing them, along with other supporters of Israel, out. For now, even he doesn’t seem to know the answer to that question.

Josh Feldman is a Melbourne-based writer on Israeli and Jewish issues.