It should not be difficult to legislate against hatred, Prime Minister Albanese. A prime minister has one overriding duty: to keep his citizens safe. Nothing is more fundamental. Nothing is more non-negotiable.

Yet if Albanese is genuinely unsure how to confront the crisis his government has helped foster, I am happy to assist. I would even volunteer to move into The Lodge myself, if only to restore some semblance of Australia’s once-instinctive culture of mateship and “love thy neighbour,” values that now appear disturbingly absent from our national life.

The starting point is obvious. The Prime Minister need only pick up the long-ignored report of Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, which sets out clear, practical recommendations. Segal could not have been clearer:

“Antisemitism is not just a threat to Jews; it attacks the foundations of our nation – fairness, equality and respect for one another. When hatred goes unchallenged, our democracy is at risk. The response must be clear and unequivocal. There is no place for antisemitism in modern Australia.”

At a memorial service in Sydney organised by the Australian Jewish Association, former Prime Minister Scott Morrison observed that 30 Australian prime ministers upheld a bipartisan commitment to Israel. Australia’s 31st prime minister has chosen to break with that tradition.

Immediately after taking office in 2022, Mr Albanese withdrew Australia’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. This decision was entirely consistent with a record of hostility toward Israel stretching back decades. In 2000, he even led anti-Israel protests in Sydney at the time Yasser Arafat walked away........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)