Anthony Albanese has revealed how he plans to tackle a rise in alleged anti-Semitic incidents across Australia after a synagogue was plastered with swastikas and a shopfront graffitied in NSW over recent weeks.
Mr Albanese met with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, acting NSW Premier Penny Sharpe and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw following a bruising few months for the PM over his handling of the crisis.
The three governments have worked together to try and locate the culprits of multiple alleged high-profile attacks at places of worship since the October 7 attack, including an arson attack a Melbourne synagogue late last year.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with state leaders about recent alleged anti-Semitic attacks. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
The Prime Minister said he stood ready to assist state leaders and all three governments had committed to regular conversations and on the importance of state and federal police engaging directly with the community.
“The rise of anti-Semitism is abhorrent and there is no place for the kind of hate speech and attacks we have seen recently,” Mr Albanese said in a statement.
“It’s why we’re taking action to stamp out the scourge of anti-Semitism.”
The Albanese government has implemented a raft of measures amid the rise in anti-Semitic incidents, including an AFP task force to “crack down on anti-Semitism, threats, and violence” directed at the Jewish community.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Picture: NewsWire / David Geraghty
The taskforce, known as Operation Avalite, has received 124 reports since its inception, including 102 still under investigation, and joins legal reforms aimed at criminalising doxxing and banning the Nazi salute in early-2024.
The federal government last year appointed Australia’s first Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Anti-Semitism, Jillian Segal, and has committed more than $50m to safety and security measures at Jewish sites, schools and synagogues.
It comes after counter-terrorism police were appointed to take over investigations into a swastika vandalism attack at a synagogue in Newtown last week, with officers on the hunt for two people who may be able to help investigators.
Police release images of two people they say may be able to help with their investigation into a swastika vandalism attack on a Sydney synagogue.
In recent months, police have been called after a home in Sydney’s east was graffitied; a man was charged over an anti-Semitic graffiti attack in Newcastle; and, multiple cars were allegedly painted with “f**k Israel” in Woollahra.
Peter Dutton this week accused the Prime Minister of being at least partly responsible for the surge in anti-Semitism in a speech to party faithful over the weekend.
The Opposition Leader said “every incident of anti-Semitism can be traced back to the Prime Minister’s dereliction of leadership in response to the sort of events on the steps of the Sydney Opera House” following Hamas’ brutal October 7 assault on Israel.
Mr Albanese on Monday called the remarks “just plain nasty”.