‘Moral clarity’ call by Peter Dutton on anti-Semitism

The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader will today join senior Jewish and political leaders in a display of bipartisan support against anti-­Semitic hate speech.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Picture: AFP

Peter Dutton will call for “moral courage and clarity” in unequivocally condemning ugly scenes of anti-Semitism, as Anthony Albanese moves to reassure Jewish leaders that he will protect social cohesion against those seeking to divide Australia.

The Opposition Leader and Prime Minister will join senior Jewish and political leaders at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum on Wednesday in a display of ­bipartisan support against anti-­Semitic hate speech and violence fuelled by the Israel-Hamas war.

Speaking at the reopening of the expanded museum, established in Melbourne’s southeast by Holocaust survivors in 1984, Mr Albanese is expected to ­declare his commitment to the ­Jewish community amid a wave of anti-Semitic incidents in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Albanese government has come under fire from Jewish community leaders and the ­Coalition over growing divisions inside Labor around Israel’s response in Gaza and perceptions that senior government figures have not unequivocally condemned anti-Semitism.

In his speech, Mr Dutton will say that “whenever and wherever the forces of anti-Semitism are on the march, there is a need for moral courage and moral clarity”.

“Across Australia, right now, there is a need for unequivocal and unqualified condemnation of the anti-Semitism we are witnessing. We must have no tolerance for that which must not be tolerated,” Mr Dutton will say.

“After that horror-of-all-horrors committed by the Nazis … the forces of civilisation said, ‘Never again.’ Full stop. It is our solemn duty to ensure that refrain does not become a ‘Never again’ which ends in a question mark. It is our solemn duty to ensure that refrain never becomes an ‘Again’.

“And that duty starts with our providing moral courage and moral clarity. It starts with our ­responsibility to confront the truth and to have reverence for the truth.”

The Melbourne Holocaust Museum, which reopened weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks, was one of 177 grant ­recipients under the Albanese government’s $50m Securing Faith-Based Places program to improve security at religious schools, places of worship and faith-based community centres. The Morrison government in 2019 provided $10m to support the museum expansion.

Mr Dutton will reaffirm the Coalition’s firm support for the Jewish community following the “barbarity which was visited upon Israel on October 7”.

“A barbarity we didn’t think was still possible. We stand here today having seen the footage of hate-fuelled mobs marching through main cities in major democracies as they chanted slogans advocating for the slaughter of Jews … chants we didn’t think we would ever hear in the very heart of civilisation,” he will say.

“We stand here today in the aftermath of the most obscene acts of anti-Semitism on our own soil … acts we didn’t think were possible in a tolerant country like Australia. Right now, we are witnessing a resurgence of the same hateful thoughts and behaviours which ultimately led to the Holocaust.”

The show of solidarity comes after White House National Security Council Co-ordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on Tuesday (AEDT) ­attacked Hamas sympathisers for weaponising “genocide”.

“People can say what they want on the sidewalk and … we respect that. That’s what the First Amendment is about,” Mr Kirby said. “But this word ‘genocide’ is ­getting thrown around in a pretty inappropriate way by lots of different folks. What Hamas wants, make no mistake about it, is genocide. They want to wipe Israel off the map. They’ve said so publicly on more than one occasion — in fact, just recently.

“Yes, there are too many civilian casualties in Gaza. Yes, the numbers are too high. Yes, many families are grieving. And yes, we continue to urge the Israelis to be as careful and cautious as possible. But Israel is not trying to wipe the Palestinian people off the map. ­Israel is not trying to wipe Gaza off the map. Israel is trying to defend itself against a genocidal terrorist threat. So … if we’re going to start using that word, fine, let’s use it ­appropriately.”

Speaking to Jewish leaders in St Kilda on October 11, days after Hamas’ attacks on Israel, Mr Albanese said he was “committed to keeping the community safe”.

“Many of you will fear a rise in anti-Semitism here at home,” he said. “I want to assure you, that kind of hateful prejudice has no place in Australia. Our country is better than that – and our country is a better place because of you and your community. I want to say very clearly: you are not alone. All Australians embrace you in this time of trauma. We cannot lighten the weight that is upon you, but we hold you in our hearts. We grieve with you. We will stand with Israel. We always will.”

In a heated parliamentary exchange with Mr Dutton last week, Mr Albanese accused the Opposition Leader of “weaponising” anti-Semitism and declared he stood with both the Jewish community and Australian Muslims. “Jewish Australians … are fearful at the moment. The sort of activity that is occurring is scaring them and I stand with them. But it is also the case that Arab Australians and Islamic Australians and women wearing hijabs in the streets of Sydney and Melbourne are being threatened, and I stand against that as well,” Mr Albanese said.

“The idea of selective human rights is one that I stand against. So I’m opposed to any innocent life being lost.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin last week welcomed the contributions of both the Prime Minister and Mr Dutton: “We deeply appreciate the Opposition Leader’s impassioned stand against anti-Semitism and the Prime Minister’s consistent and clear position in support of our community. We hope this bipartisan support continues in the difficult weeks and months ahead, and results in meaningful action to defeat anti-Semitism before things spiral out of control.”