Jewish leaders tell Anthony Albanese sweeping reforms needed to tackle anti-Semitism in wake of Melbourne terror attack

Jewish leaders have urged Anthony Albanese to urgently convene the national cabinet and make sweeping changes to address the anti-Semitism crisis.

A woman places flowers at a vigil near the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne after it was destroyed by fire on Friday. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Jewish leaders have urged Anthony Albanese to urgently convene the national cabinet and make sweeping changes to the law, education, policing and security to address the anti-Semitism crisis, after the Prime Minister took two days to acknowledge the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue was an act of terrorism.

The nation’s peak Jewish body, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, has written to the Prime Minister urging emergency funding to protect synagogues and schools, a complete review of the government’s language on Israel and anti-Semitism, and a whole new school program to stamp out anti-Jewish hate in an attempt to fundamentally tackle the growing scourge of anti-Semitism.

As the Jewish community gathered at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne’s Ripponlea to express solidarity following Friday’s firebombing, the political fallout over the attack gathered pace, with the government defending itself against allegations by Jewish community leaders that it had failed to show leadership on the issue.

Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police also faced criticism for waiting until Monday to meet to discuss whether the arson attack was an act of terrorism.

In a testy press conference in Perth on Sunday, Mr Albanese said multiple times that the government had “consistently” called out anti-Semitism. He also said the government would provide an extra $32.5m over the next 18 months to increase security for Jewish communities.

“There has been a worrying rise in anti-Semitism but we call it out and we call it out consistently, and we work with the community to work through these issues,” he said. “The Victorian Police and the Australian Federal Police will be having a meeting. There is a technical process that is agreed in the protocols or designating an event as a terrorist act.

“If you want my personal view, quite clearly terrorism is something … aimed at creating fear in the community, and the atrocities that occurred at the synagogue in Melbourne clearly were designed to create fear in the community. And therefore, from my personal perspective, (it) certainly (does) fulfil that definition of terrorism.”

But in a strongly worded letter sent on Sunday, the ECAJ urged Mr Albanese to “reflect on how this has been allowed to occur. We ask you to reflect on how the conditions in which a synagogue can be set alight have been allowed to develop”. It said the firebombing of the synagogue had “brought our nation to a point of crisis. When one group of Australians cannot safely gather in its houses of prayer, the very character of this country as a free, democratic and multicultural society is in peril”.

The ECAJ said now was the time for action and called on national cabinet to convene urgently “to address the national anti-Semitism crisis including through uniform policing guidelines, law reform and public campaigns”.

This included emergency funding to meet the extra security needs of the Jewish community and orders to police to “strictly enforce” existing laws prohibiting harassment by protesters of persons at schools or places of worship. It also urged the government to “review” its public rhetoric on conflict in the Middle East and on anti-Semitism, “recognising the far greater impact that such statements have on local communities, than on conflict resolution in the Middle-East”.

People gather for a vigil near the Adass Israel Synagogue. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

The Prime Minister dismissed calls from former treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Jewish leaders to establish a joint police taskforce focused solely on anti-Semitism.

With Mr Albanese not due to visit Ripponlea until Tuesday, Labor MPs told The Australian the government’s response to the burning down of the synagogue had not been adequate.

“I’m disappointed … I really don’t think we were strong enough in response. More was needed,” one Labor MP said.

Another MP said it was clear many people from the Jewish community were not happy with the government, and such sentiments had to be taken seriously.

The hate crime has made headlines around the world, and led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to blame the “extreme anti-Israeli position of the Labor government in Australia”.

With his government under attack, Mr Albanese defended its record on fighting anti-Semitism, pointing to its move to ban the Nazi salute and other hate symbols, the appointment of Jillian Segal as Australia’s inaugural envoy on anti-Semitism and legislation to outlaw doxxing.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, also accused by Jewish leaders of weak leadership on anti-Semitism, said the attack on the synagogue was an “act of anti-Semitic evil” designed to “strike terror into the hearts of the Victorian community”.

Mr Albanese refused to respond to Mr Netanyahu’s extraordinary intervention, pointing out Australia voted alongside all its Five Eye partners except the US in supporting a UN motion in favour of a Palestinian state.

“One hundred and fifty-seven countries supported the resolution that was passed by the United Nations. Of the Five Eyes partners, Australia’s most important security partners, four of the five voted for that resolution – New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia,” he said.

Anthony Albanese at the opening of the Metronet Ellenbrook Line in WA. Picture: Colin Murty

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the latest attacks on the government over anti-Semitism were political and said Labor’s voting in the UN aligned with the majority of like-minded Western nations.

“Turning this into a political fight is reckless even for Peter Dutton,” she said.

But the Opposition Leader hit back, claiming the government’s response to anti-Semitism was weak and had put Jews at greater risk. He said the arson attack was a tragedy and national disgrace that should never have happened, but it was not surprising.

“The fact is that the Prime Minister took a deliberate decision 13 months ago to play down the level of anti-Semitism in the community, and the government’s policies right up to this very day have made it less safe for people of Jewish faith in our country,” Mr Dutton said.

“This is an act of terrorism – pure and simple – and I think the Prime Minister’s deliberate decision to seek political advantage over the course of the last 12 months … and play to a domestic audience of Green voters has been deplorable, and one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in public life.”

A woman lays flowers outside the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said Mr Albanese had shown “weakness and impotence” in the face of extremism.

“It should not have taken the Prime Minister 48 hours to acknowledge what everyone else can see: this was an act of terror targeting the Jewish community,’ Senator Paterson said.