Australians just want anti-Semitic attacks to stop and politicising them does not help, an independent MP says.
The nation’s Jewish community is reeling after the former Dover Heights home of Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief Alex Ryvchin was defaced with anti-Semitic slurs and cars were set alight outside.
It is the fourth major anti-Semitic incident to take place in Sydney’s east in three months and the suburb’s federal MP, Allegra Spender, says her constituents are appalled.
“Nobody wants to see this sort of behaviour and this sort of attack,” she told AAP.
Allegra Spender said politicising the anti-Semitic attacks doesn’t help. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
Ms Spender said her constituents had one key focus and politicians should unite to achieve it.
“The community just wants it to stop,” she said.
“People should be outraged about these events, but the politicisation of this – I don’t think helps.
“Any attack on any minority or part of our community is an attack on all of us.”
The attack follows a firebombing at a south Melbourne synagogue and an attempt to start a blaze at a place of worship in Sydney’s inner west.
Anthony Albanese recently met with police and premiers in NSW and Victoria where anti-Semitic attacks have been concentrated.
Ms Spender urged the prime minister to call a national cabinet meeting so all jurisdictions can learn from each other’s law enforcement, education and sentencing guidelines and ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
When parliamentary sitting resumes in February, she intends to push for changes to Labor’s hate crimes legislation to make serious vilification a crime as existing laws allow some to dodge prosecution while expressing hate.
Serious vilification was raised in the committee process and has been acknowledged in the Senate committee’s report.
The incident was “another anti-Semitic attack that is against everything that we stand for”, Mr Albanese said.
He has called for the law to be enforced to hold the people who committed Friday’s attack accountable.
However, the prime minister stopped short of saying there needed to be a further strengthening of commonwealth legislation as the actions would fall under state laws.
“If courts have the opportunity to do that, they should be taking that opportunity to send that message that this is completely unacceptable and that crimes will result in appropriate penalties,” he said.
The prime minister called for the law to be enforced to hold the offenders accountable. (Neve Brissenden/AAP PHOTOS)
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has consistently attacked Labor over its response to anti-Semitism, saying the party had allowed it to rise dramatically.
“There just hasn’t been the strong enough leadership that’s required and I think as a result we’re seeing these sort of incidents again and again and again,” he said.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who is Jewish, said he hoped an announced ceasefire between Hamas and Israel would quell anti-Semitism in Australia.
“The ceasefire … should signal the end to grotesque exploitation of the conflict by politicians in Australia,” he said.
“Now, more than ever, we need unity and political point-scoring has only fuelled more social discord.”