What the Melbourne synagogue attack shows us about antisemitism in the diaspora – editorial

Antisemitic attacks have become a sad norm for Diaspora Jews since the Hamas massacre of October 7 last year. Whatever claims are made about these heinous crimes as targeting Israel and its response in Gaza to the massacre, we don’t hesitate to call them out for what they are: hate-fueled abominable actions aimed at Jews.

Perhaps one of the greatest recent examples is the devastating fire that ripped through the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea, Melbourne, early Friday morning. Aside from the damage to the historic building, two people were wounded.

The synagogue is part of a large network, the Adass Israel Congregation in Melbourne, which dates back to the 1940s. It was the site of another arson attack around 30 years ago.

Like thieves in the night, the attackers did not raise their issues with the Jewish community face-to-face, during daylight hours, as civilized people do. They came in the dead of night, cowards that they are, and targeted a place that is a home of worship and a hall of sanctuary.

To ask “What did the community do to deserve this?” rests on a false premise; they didn’t do anything beyond merely existing.

No surprises here

Unfortunately, the fact that this happened at all is not surprising; the fact that this happened in a democratic country with a functional security apparatus is egregious. These are citizens who deserve to be protected in person and property.

On Sunday, two days after the attack, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that it is looking more like an act of terror.

“The atrocities that occurred at the synagogue in Melbourne clearly were designed to create fear in the community and therefore, from my personal perspective, certainly fulfill that definition of terrorism,” Albanese said at a press conference in Perth.

One day earlier, on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Australia’s Labor government motivated the crime with anti-Israel policies.

Netanyahu drew a clear line between the attack and the “anti-Israel spirit” of Albanese’s center-left government, the policies of which include support of a recent UN motion backing a Palestinian state. He posited that the two could not be separated.

Although global antisemitism has surged since October 7, caution should be used before tying in Israel to every antisemitic attack.

The Melbourne attack broadcast two messages. First, that Jews aren’t safe, anywhere, and second, that anything can be a target if the ends, whatever they may be, are justified enough in the mind of its attackers.

Australia’s government defended its record on antisemitism, saying on Saturday that since Albanese took office in May 2022, the government has provided A$25 million ($16 m.) to upgrade security at Jewish sites including schools, banned the Nazi salute, and taken action against hate speech. Laws passed last year also banned public displays of terror group symbols.

However, this is a late-stage Band-Aid to the equivalent of a heart condition. The sense of a lack of legitimacy and safety did not begin with the Melbourne arson attack. There was the June vandalizing and arson of Jewish parliamentarian Josh Burns’ office, and the defacement of vehicles, along with arson, in Sydney in November. A report by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry found a 316% increase in anti-Jewish incidents in Australia from October 7, 2023, through this past September.

“Everyone has the right to be proud of who they are and to feel welcome, safe, and supported in Australia,” Albanese said on Sunday. “Antisemitism has no place in our country. We unequivocally condemn it.”

The Australian government on Monday, three days after the attack, announced the formation of a counter-antisemitism task force. The Special Operation Avalite for Antisemitism will work with state and territory police to address issues like calls to violence or the advocating for terrorism or genocide.

But the government must do more. Unlike what Netanyahu said, this is not just about Israel, and tying between those two things can devalue the scope and trauma of the attack.

In a world growing more globalized by the day, with identities blurring, it is important to separate attacks like these from each other when they happen. They are domestic incidents first and must be tackled as such. Let’s hope the Australian government follows up on its promises and that the Australian Jewish community begins to feel the effects of personal safety again soon.