Anthony Albanese raises the white flag in new age of terror

Australia has broken ranks with the US in refusing to recognise the ‘necessity’ of dismantling Hezbollah’s strike capabilities against Israel, after the Jewish state launched a ground operation in Lebanon.

Israeli tanks mass in the country's north on Tuesday as part of the ground operation into southern Lebanon. Inset: Anthony Albanese on Tuesday. Picture: AP

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Australia has broken ranks with the US in refusing to recognise the “necessity” of dismantling Hez­bollah’s strike capabilities against ­Israel, after the Jewish state launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon in a major ­escalation of the unfolding Middle East conflict.

The split comes as one of the nation’s leading rabbis accused the government of contributing to “growing anti-Jewish sentiment” and Peter Dutton called for new federal hate speech laws to be ­enforced by police or, if required, for Labor to urgently recall parliament to strengthen them.

The Opposition Leader told The Australian the Albanese government’s “abandonment of ­Israel” was the “worst foreign ­affairs call in our generation” and a “disaster for our security ­interests.”

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus also hit back at criticism over a lack of arrests after protesters in Sydney and Melbourne waved Hezbollah flags and displayed photos of slain terrorist leader, Hassan Nasrallah last weekend, declaring that Labor retained “faith in our police forces to ­enforce the law.

“In a democracy like ours, it is entirely inappropriate to suggest the Australian Federal Police should be arresting people at the direction of politicians,’ Mr Dreyfus said. “Any person who shows support for terrorist organisations, including by displaying symbols used by terrorist organisations, are of active interest to ASIO.”

Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday there was “no place for mourning a terrorist leader” and the government was “very concerned about some of the terrorist symbols” displayed at the protests on Sunday. “It was completely unacceptable,” Mr Albanese said. “Hez­bollah and other terrorist organisations, Hamas, they do nothing to advance the interests of the people that they purport to represent, and that is why it’s completely unacceptable.”

Mr Dutton argued that Labor had “sowed the seeds” of anti-Semitism by not sufficiently condemning the Sydney Opera House protests on October 9 last year or encouraging authorities to take action against participants.

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Picture: AP

Rabbinical Council of Australasia president Rabbi Nochum Schapiro said it was “clear that not enough has been done to effectively combat anti-Semitism” and the weekend demonstrations served as another example of “anti-­Semitic hate”.

As Israel began limited operations in southern Lebanon to try to end the nearly year-long campaign of rocket, missile and drone attacks against the Jewish state, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin endorsed military operations aimed at dismantling Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran.

A readout of his call with Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant revealed both men had “agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that Lebanese Hezbollah cannot conduct October 7-style attacks on Israel’s northern ­communities.”

Mr Austin reaffirmed his view that a diplomatic resolution was required to ensure that civilians can return safely to their homes on both sides of the border after the US pushed for a 21-day ceasefire.

A fire following Israeli bombardment on an area of south Lebanon. Picture: AFP

“He and Minister Gallant ­discussed the importance of ultimately pivoting from military operations to a diplomatic pathway to provide security and stability as soon as feasible,” the readout said.

Asked whether the government supported the necessity of the Israeli incursion into Lebanon, a spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday night: “There must be an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, rather than the escalation we are seeing. Diplomacy must be prioritised. International law applies to everyone. Lebanese civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hezbollah,” the spokeswoman said.

Mr Dutton said the government’s “abandonment” of Israel was “the worst foreign affairs call in our generation”.

“It is a disaster for our security interests, for Australians of Jewish heritage and for every decent Australian,” Mr Dutton said.

Strategic Analysis Australia director Peter Jennings said US recognition of the necessity of Israel dismantling the attack infrastructure across the border with Lebanon reflected an understanding of the “military realities of what has to happen”.

Mr Jennings said Australia should “do the exact same thing”. “You would really struggle to find an Australian statement which in any way looks at the realities of the situation Israel faces,” he said. “It would represent a welcome but completely unexpected change of Australian policy.”

US Studies Centre chief executive Mike Green said the US was “stuck between a rock and a hard place”. “They want Israel to deter Iran and punish Iran’s proxies. They need Hezbollah to fail in its escalation,” he said. “I also think that the administration recognises that Hezbollah is on the backfoot and they have an opportunity to take out some of the offensive infrastructure at a lower price now.”

Dr Green said the Biden administration still wanted a ceasefire, but would be happy to have it after Israel had “taken a big bite” out of Hezbollah’s military offensive capabilities.

Mr Albanese said on Tuesday federal police would investigate the display of terrorist symbols at the weekend protests, with the AFP reaffirming it was expecting at least six referrals to be made by Victoria Police for potential breaches of new laws prohibiting the display of terrorist hate symbols.

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw told 2GB radio: “We are taking action and we will use the full force of the law as it applies to these offences. We received a number, multiple referrals from Victoria police on breaches of the public display of prohibited terrorist organisation symbols – i.e. the flags – and we are actively investigating those matters.”

Mr Dutton called on Mr Dreyfus or Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to be “very clear to the commissioner of the police, to the director-general of ASIO that we don’t have any tolerance of this sort of glorification of a terrorist leader.”

While Mr Albanese told a meeting in May convened by rabbinical councils and Jewish leaders at Central Synagogue in Sydney that it was unacceptable for Jewish people to feel there were places they could not go, Rabbi Schapiro said hate was still being spread against Jewish people “with impunity”.

“Whilst this is incitement, law enforcement has largely remained silent,” he said. “We witnessed demonstrations in Sydney and Melbourne where anti-Semitic rhetoric was once again openly displayed.”

“The key point to understand is that historically, when bigotry or racism surfaces, governments have responded by creating or enforcing the necessary laws to quash it … Yet, when it comes to anti-Semitic hate (here), we’ve seen little to no such action.”