Prime ministerial loyalty on trial in Australia’s ‘Gaza’ war

Political turmoil over antisemitism in Australia next year will depend, as it will in 2025, on what happens in Gaza and the West Bank.

Dr Lee Duffield considers the question of whether the danger to Australian Jews comes from the Australian Prime Minister or the death toll in Gaza.

MORE MILITANT, right-wing activists in the Jewish community, Crowd of 90,000 people On August 3, he crossed the Sydney Harbor Bridge in the rain, pleading with humanity in Gaza.

They saw flags of terrorist groups in the crowd and based on this, they said that the entire movement was in favor of violence against the Jewish community and called for such protests to be stopped.

The vast majority of the 90,000 people would instead insist that they expressed compassion and disgust at the mass killing of civilians and the destruction of their homes around them. Current figures: 70,000 Palestinians killed20,000 of them were Hamas fighters (According to Israelowner We lost nearly 1000 of our soldiers in Gaza) – and more than 20,000 there was kids.

all-out war

The question was raised: Do the attackers against these civilians in Gaza understand that they are human beings? Millions will face starvation, be surrounded by filth, with no shelter from desert heat or bitter cold and torrential rain, will be deprived of clean water, will suffer diseases and serious injuries without medical assistance, and will still be exposed to tank and aircraft bombardment.

All-out attack on Gaza follows Islamist terrorist attack on Israeli border On October 7, 2023The price of a barbaric attack 1,200 livesApproximately 400 of them are Israeli security personnel, while the others are completely defenseless civilians.

Where bombardments and “punitive” attacks on Gaza have continued for more than a decade, the occupation by Israel’s orders Netanyahu After October 7, the government embarked on a full-scale war with the intention of destroying the Hamas political movement along with its fighting force. about 30,000 strong.

Two Prime Ministers

The brutality and destruction of this operation, which continued uninterrupted for more than two years with the exception of a brief ceasefire, exposed the Jewish community in all countries to new slander and danger due to Judaism’s mental relations with Israel and the policies of the Israeli Government.

It’s a simple combination of ideas: the Israeli army, the Israeli government, the state of Israel, the Israeli people, the Jews.

Very strangely, this association is shared by militants on both sides: on the one hand, those in Jewish politics, as well as the government. Likud the party and its allies in the diaspora, people with loyalty to two Prime Ministers – the Australian prime minister they want to oust, and the Israeli prime minister they will follow; on the other, active anti-Semites who blame all Jews anywhere in the world for the government’s actions.

Moving away from radical ideologies

Returning to political conflicts in Australia, and leaving the extremes aside, reasonable people of differing views have reached some consensus around the main points:

• They defend Israel’s sovereignty and right to exist within secure borders (as confirmed by the Palestinian leader) Yasser Arafat, 1988);
• They deplore with shock and despair the attack on October 7, 2023, and the repeated terrorist attacks against the Jewish people. Bondi on December 14th — call for action to prevent and punish such incidents;
• They decry the carnage, psychological suffering and destruction inflicted by Israeli armed forces in Gaza, and sympathize with Palestinians in the West Bank against openly state-sponsored attacks, land theft, bullying and intimidation by Israeli “settlers”;
• They will not give up their rights to freedom of expression, liberal standards in Australian universities and diversity of views in Australian news media.

This “freedom of expression” means, on the one hand, tolerating Likud and Liberal supporters trying to blame and insult the Prime Minister, and on the other hand, rejecting the demands of these circles against them amounts to a form of educational and media policing.

Australian Government action

What form do such reactions from Australian society take?

In September, the Australian Government joined Canada and the United Kingdom in recognizing the state of Palestine. 150 countries currently take this position – and affirmed the Palestinians’ right to self-determination under the “two-state solution” (Palestine and Israel). This was seen as an emergency in attempts to stop Israel’s takeover of the West Bank and to stand up to political challengers to the armed occupation in Palestine.

The decisions were conditional on Hamas losing political authority; This was a serious dilemma: Hamas showed that it was integrated into society; Determined to maintain a dictatorial and bloody rule by attacking all kinds of opposition in Gaza; and if he survived battered and much diminishedIsraeli forces have attempted to destroy it for over two years.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese It took action after October 2023: Security patrols at synagogues and Jewish schools, which Jewish spokesmen viewed as a dire necessity, received massive amounts of federal funding; Security services through the Australian Federal Police (AFP) organize special operations against anti-Semitism; Hate speech laws have been toughened and Bans on extremist slogans and symbolslike the Nazi salute at parades; More funding for education went to Jewish cultural institutions, including Holocaust museums.

Albanese was left with two demands Jillian SegalAs part of his rapidly produced diary of allegations, which he appointed Special Envoy Against Anti-Semitism, he produced a “report” containing “recommendations.” In one readingThe envoy appears to have overstepped or misunderstood the authority, seeking authority to oversee the ABC and SBS as well as new government controls on university policy on antisemitism and campus protests, backed by heavy sanctions against those institutions.

Ambitions are bound to encounter stubborn opposition. The government had already made an agreement with universities to develop and publish their own programs to combat antisemitism.

Blaming “Albo”

For his trouble, the Prime Minister was subjected to a vindictive harassment campaign that sought to blame him for somehow causing the Chanukah attack in Bondi. The day after the attack was launched by the other Prime Minister in this case, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel; Netanyahu accused him of this and even tried to conduct his own “investigation” into the Australia incident.

Netanyahu was seconded by the Leader of the Liberal Opposition in Australia. Susan LeyNews Corp press and Sky News and right-wing figures in the Jewish community who claim to speak for all Australian Jews.

It can be expected that every effort will be made to sustain this highly personal and partisan tirade; We expect ministers to shout, bullies to be thrown out, demonstrations of moral panic and lethargic hysteria in the Federal Parliament.

Watch out for interrupters

An issue will arise around the proposed visit. Isaac HerzogIsraeli President at the meeting prime minister’s invitation. It will attract opposition from the Palestinian side; What if Netanyahu wants to visit too?

Netanyahu has shown that he is willing to take sides and intervene in Australian party politics. HE Wanted by the International Criminal Court confront Accusations against Gaza – war crime starvation as a method of warfareand crimes against humanity murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.

Australia is one of them 124 signatories to the ICCHowever, he is not among the more than 20 people who stated that he would be arrested if he entered their territory. (The ICC can try individuals, but there will be legal debate about prosecuting the Head of the Israeli Government who is not a signatory.)

“Royal commission! Royal commission! Royal commission!”

A right-wing affiliate and a well-organized campaign created the mantra of a “royal commission” into the outrage against Bondi; This was the kind of investigation used to uncover thorny social problems, such as organized crime, often to find criminals.

The campaign features the communications departments of the Likud and Liberal parties. The implication is that this royal commission will put the blame on the Albanians for not protecting the victims. Alongside the New South Wales royal commission and the federal safeguards review already being established, an additional large-scale federal inquiry with a sufficiently broad terms of reference would also look into complaints within the Arab or Islamic communities. He can come back and bite those sent to the bay after him.

The government refused to allow a new royal commission to be set up at the end of the year, and as a result, in Australia, elected governments govern the country, not the Prime Minister of a foreign country, the Opposition or any of the interest groups.

Is it worse to come?

But the greatest potential for growing trouble and danger in Australia lies outside Australia, should the current uneasy ceasefire in Gaza be broken down and the war against Gaza resumed. ceasefire and exchange of hostages and prisoners It collapsed in January-March 2025 as the international community began sponsoring rapid repairs of services and supplies. Israel did not like this; Strong elements of Hamas come together provocative display of bravadoHe wanted to continue the fight.

Will there be such a relapse in 2026 that will make the tragedy even worse?

In addition to Dr Lee Duffield’s extensive journalistic experience, he served as the ABC’s European correspondent. He is also a respected academic and member of the editorial advisory board of Pacific Journalism Review and an elected member of the University of Queensland Senate.

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