MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government appointed a special envoy Tuesday to address the rise in anti-Semitism across the country since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
A similar envoy will soon be appointed to challenge Islamophobia in Australia and both will promote social cohesion, Prime Minister Antonio Albanês he told reporters at Sydney’s Jewish Museum.
Albanese’s own office in Sydney has been the target of pro-Palestinian graffiti as rival activists clash over the war between Israel and Hamas in Australian cities and university campuses.
Albanese appointed Jillian Segal, a Sydney lawyer and business executive, to be “special envoy to combat antisemitism in Australia” for three years. She will consult with community groups and report to the Minister for Albanian and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles.
Segal called the statistics on antisemitism in Australia “shocking.” Reports of anti-Semitism rose 700% immediately after Hamas militants sparked the war in Gaza by attacking Israel on Oct. 7, and are still 400% to 500% higher than before the conflict, she said.
Reports include Jewish-owned businesses being boycotted and vandalized, as well as Jewish artists being deleted or subject to social media bans that restrict their visibility on the platforms, Segal said.
“Unfortunately there is no single answer to the perennial problem of anti-Semitism,” she said.
“But the creation of this role shows the government’s determination to tackle this evil and ensure it does not erode the goodness that exists in our society,” he added.
Albanese said a graffiti attack that marked his inner Sydney office as a Hamas target in December was being taken seriously and acted upon.
He also condemned last month’s spray paint vandalism of the Australian National Korean War Memorial and the Australian Forces Vietnam National Memorial in the national capital, Canberra.
“I’ve spoken to members of the Jewish community here, in Melbourne, near Australia, who don’t feel safe, members of the Jewish community whose children are worried about wearing school uniforms in our capital cities,” Albanese said. not acceptable. It is not acceptable, ever. And certainly not in Australia in 2024.”
“What we need to do is ensure that the conflict that is occurring in the Middle East and that has caused great suffering to the Jewish community, members of the Islamic and Palestinian communities – the overwhelming majority of Australians do not want the conflict to be brought here.” . ,” Albanese added.
