The Albanese government is trying to address the issue of anti-semitism in the most shortsighted, ham-fisted way imaginable

Anyone with a modicum of foresight can see how the recently passed “hate speech” laws will be used and misused to attack religious freedom with a chilling effect on free speech.

Australia is again making headlines around the world for all the wrong reasons thanks to another anti-Semitic incident.

To hear two nurses, who are meant to uphold a solemn oath to treat every patient with the utmost care, boast about killing Israelis is chilling and unsurprisingly the footage went viral within hours.

Articles detailing the vile comments were published far and wide from the Jerusalem Post to the New York Times to the BBC and Times of India. The Washington Post headline read “Australian hospital examines patient records after nurse claims to have killed Israelis.”

Australia’s reputation has taken a battering since October 9, 2023, when footage of anti-Israeli protesters chanting “gas the Jews”, or as some contend “where are the Jews”, went around the globe.

The two nurses were meant to uphold a solemn oath to treat every patient with the utmost care.

Since then a number of incidents have reinforced the perception that we have a growing anti-Semitism problem in our midst. One the Labor government appears reluctant to properly tackle.

Jews around the world now perceive Australia differently than just 18 months ago.

In Israel they are all too aware of dozens of incidents of anti-Semitism that have come to light since October 7, 2023, including acts of arson, doxxing of Jewish creatives and attacks against Jewish students.

I was in Israel in mid-December and was shocked by how local attitudes to Australia had changed since my last visit. Many believed that Australians were hostile to Jews and to Israel, and were relieved to learn that the majority of the country has not fallen for Leftist pro-Palestinian propaganda.

Family members of disgraced nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh at their home in Western Sydney.

The Albanese government’s failure to confront a small but loud minority of anti-Semites has done a great deal of damage to Australia’s reputation.

And, now they are trying to address this issue in the most shortsighted, ham-fisted way imaginable; by introducing new laws that essentially limit free speech.

Only last week Labor together with the Coalition passed more “hate speech” laws, ostensibly to tackle anti-Semitism, but anyone with a modicum of foresight can see how such laws will be used and misused to attack religious freedom with a chilling effect on free speech.

Naturally, The Australian Association of Christian Schools raised serious concerns about the legislation, knowing full well how such laws are used to silence and intimidate everyday Australians.

Yet it seems both Labor and the Coalition are blind to the law of unintended consequences.

They are again teaming up to propose more bad legislation that will be misused approximately five minutes after becoming law.

The Albanese government has failed to confront a small but loud minority of anti-Semites. Picture: Martin Ollman

A proposal to toughen workplace laws to encourage universities to sack anti-Semitic staff is harebrained to say the least.

We already have laws in place, including against intimidation and incitement to violence, to tackle the anti-Semitism scourge; we need authorities to start implementing existing laws rather than creating new ones so politicians can pretend that they have tackled this issue.

Free speech is a fundamental human right, we cannot afford to trample upon it further as an easy fix to an insidious problem that deserves a far more serious response.

It seems both Labor and the Coalition are blind to the law of unintended consequences. Picture: Martin Ollman

The Coalition in particular cannot afford to push legislation that is not in line with liberal values.

One would’ve hoped that the Peter Dutton-led Liberals would’ve learned from the Turnbull government’s disastrous appointment of Leftist activist Julie Inman Grant as eSafety Commissioner.

An office that was created to protect vulnerable children online but quickly morphed into an activist outfit that has used taxpayer funds to silence Australians sharing mainstream views online including statements of fact such as “men cannot breastfeed”.

Curbing the free speech of all Australians will do nothing to meaningfully address the deep seated anti-Semitism that exists in small but loud segments of our society.

Originally published as The Albanese government is trying to address the issue of anti-semitism in the most shortsighted, ham-fisted way imaginable