Dr. Rafael Medoff
Screengrab via X
Is there a connection between anti-Israelism and antisemitism? It’s a question worth asking in the wake of the massacre of Jews in Australia.
In 2018, Australia’s conservative prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced his country’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. But in 2022, the Labor Party’s Anthony Albanese was elected prime minister, and he quickly rescinded that recognition.
The Albanese administration also declared that it would henceforth characterize Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Old City section of Jerusalem as “Occupied Palestinian Territories” and would regard all Jewish communities in those areas as “illegal.”
Not long afterwards, Australia announced it would not sell weapons to Israel, because of Israel’s pursuit of Hamas terrorists in Gaza. And Australia supported UN resolutions harshly attacking Israel.
Did this steady stream of anti-Israel policy moves create an atmosphere in Australia in which hatred of Israel is seen as legitimate, which in turn has encouraged antisemitism?
The government’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, said last year that during the first weeks following October 7, there was “a 700 per cent increase” in antisemitic incidents in the country.
The Council of Australian Jewry, which monitors such attacks, has reported that between November 2023 and August 2024, there was a 300 to 400 percent increase in antisemitic incidents as compared to the previous year.
A Monash University poll in June 2024 found that 20% of Australia’s approximately 117,000 Jews personally experienced antisemitism in the previous year. When pro-Hamas rallies erupted in multiple Australian cities, Prime Minister Albanese said there was nothing he could do about them—even though Australia’s Unlawful Processions and Assemblies Act of 1958 enables the government to ban any public gathering that it believes will “incite religious or political discord.”
Is it just a coincidence that there has been so much antisemitism in Australia during the same period that the Australian government has been turning against Israel and tolerating local pro-Hamas activity? What lessons are Australia’s extremists learning from the actions of the nation’s political leadership? When ganging up on the Jewish State becomes acceptable in mainstream society, fringe elements may well conclude that ganging up on Jews generally likewise will be tolerated.
The initial statement issued by Prime Minister Albanese in response to the massacre of Australian Jews celebrating Hanukkah did not mention Jews, Hanukkah, antisemitism or even terrorism. What message does that send?
A Facebook post today by Dr. Rafael Medoff, historian and author of the new book, The Road to October 7:
Weizmann back in the thirties said, “Antisemites do not like Jews around and anti-Zionists do not like Jews in Palestine.” Hair splitting between anti-Zionists and Antisemites is irrelevant to most. The mesage that reaches the undereducated and frustrated on the streets is that it is kosher to molest Jews.