Politicians passionately denounce antisemitism in parliament amidst national crisis

Emotions ran high in both upper and lower houses of parliament as politicians, including prime minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton, condemned antisemitism and vowed to stand against the surge.

In the House of Representatives this afternoon, Independent MP Allegra Spender moved a motion to; deplore the rise of antisemitism, condemn antisemitism and resolve that all parliamentarians work together to combat antisemitism.

“We, in this house and across the different levels of government, have the responsibility to keep the community safe and that must be the work of this parliament in the laws, policing, education and justice systems,” she said.

“The message from this parliament today must be unambiguous: We will not stand for hate, we will not stand for abuse, we will not abide intimidation, and we will not tolerate a terrorising of any part of our community. We are all united against antisemitism.”

Spender is also seeking to strengthen the hate crime legislation.

Albanese emphasised that ”this kind of hateful prejudice has no place in Australia”, adding that his government has been working to protect the Jewish community.

“Our country is better than that and our country is a better place because of our Jewish community,” he said.

“Our government is committed to keeping the community safe, Mr Deputy Speaker, we have not wavered. Antisemitism stands in vile opposition to all we are as a nation and all that we have built together over generations.

“It has no place in our nation, and we will combat it with the full force of our laws and with total commitment from every level of government.”

Dutton said this was a time of “national crisis”.

“Antisemitism has always been there, as the previous speakers have spoken of, that has previously been here for thousands of years but, in our country, the depth and the level of hatred and racism that we’ve seen has never been evidenced in our country’s history,” he said.

He claimed the government has failed to act in response to antisemitic attacks, adding that today’s level of antisemitism has been building since the protest at Sydney’s Opera House following the Hamas October 7 attack. 

“It is no wonder that people within the Jewish community, their friends, their supporters in every Australian of good endeavour and of big heart has been condemning of the inaction that we’ve seen over the course of the last 12 months,” he said.

Labor MP Josh Burns and Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who are both Jewish, told of the impact the number of alleged antisemitic attacks against cars, homes, businesses and synagogues has had on the community.

“The truth is that the last six months have been like no other that I’ve experienced in this country,” Burns said.

“We have a domestic terrorism crisis in this country,” Leeser said, before also criticising the government’s response against antisemitism.

Meanwhile, Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie became visibly emotional when she introduced the same motion against antisemitism in the Senate.

“The people who are doing this … you people are at the bottle of the barrel. You seriously are Australia’s scum and I will call you out for that today,” she said.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong stood up, acknowledging that the “distressing” rise in antisemitism and “vile acts of hate” is not just an attack on the Jewish community but also an attack on Australia.

“People in this country should not only be safe but should feel safe,” she said.

“It is important and appropriate that today across the chamber, we stand together to unequivocally condemn antisemitism in all its forms, just as we should condemn hatred in all its forms directed at any group in our community.”