PM condemns ‘deplorable’ attacks on Jews
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has condemned a spate of incidents targeting the Jewish community in recent weeks, as the Israel-Gaza war has unfolded.
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has condemned a spate of incidents targeting the Jewish community in recent weeks, as the Israel-Gaza war has unfolded.
At a Melbourne conference with ethnic media on Tuesday, the PM was asked by The AJN whether he thought the attacks – on a visiting rabbi and on a Jewish school in Perth, on a pedestrian in Melbourne, and on a school bus with Jewish children in Sydney – pointed to a rise in anti-Semitism. He said that while he was “reluctant to accept that racism is on the rise”, he was deeply concerned at the developments.
“I accept that there have been some reprehensible incidents … and I deplore it, and I’m encouraged that these incidents have been dealt with very swiftly and – quite properly – severely by the authorities … there have been some deplorable incidents and, thank God, they have been dealt with swiftly and severely,” he told The AJN.
Five teens have been arrested in relation to the Sydney bus attack, in which Jewish students on a school bus were accosted by drunken adolescents yelling “Heil Hitler” and threatening to slit the young pupils’ throats.
But The AJN understands that Perth youths who accosted Israeli visitor Rabbi Avrohom Sholom Halberstam, shouting at him about “killing babies in Gaza”, were interviewed by police and let off with a warning.
No arrests have been made over the daubing of Perth’s Carmel School with hate graffiti and so far no one has been arrested over last month’s assault on Zac Gomo in Elsternwick by two men of Middle Eastern appearance.
The PM told The AJN: “From time to time, there will be regrettable incidents directed against people of various religions, ethnicities and cultures and I deplore any targeting of people based on religion, ethnicity or culture, because … every single person who has come to this country from another country has self-consciously chosen Australia and we should cherish that; we should be proud of that.
“Similarly when people come to this country, while we don’t expect them to abandon their heritage … we do expect them to join the team and part of being Australian is being accepting of difference.
“It’s understanding that this is a country where everyone has equal rights, and the most fundamental right of all is the right to live your life according to law … entirely free of molestation or harassment or persecution by others.”
PETER KOHN
Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Photo: Peter Haskin
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