Better late than never.

This aphorism applies to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

As he now admits, just a few days after two Muslim terrorists killed 15 people at a Chanukah celebration at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, his government could have been far more proactive in ensuring the safety of Australia’s Jewish community.

“It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge,” he said as he unveiled a set of measures to counter antisemitism. “Much more.”

“Governments aren’t perfect,” he added in a note of contrition. “I’m not perfect.”

Before Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, slaughtered celebrants ushering in the first night of the Festival of Lights, Albanese had been repeatedly warned by Jewish community leaders and his special envoy on antisemitism that Jews felt increasingly unsafe.

Since Hamas’ one-day invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Jews in Australia have been subjected to an onslaught of antisemitic attacks. The upsurge in anti-Jewish animus was accompanied by pro-Palestinian demonstrations, some of which smelled of antisemitism.

In the face of these sickening developments, Albanese appointed Jillian Segal as Australia’s first official to monitor antisemitism and passed legislation to criminalize hate speech.

While they were worthwhile initiatives, they scratched only the surface of a seething problem that was clearly getting out of hand.

“For years, Australia reassured itself that antisemitism is marginal — an imported pathology or an online nuisance safely removed from everyday life,” Peter Kurti writes in The Wall Street Journal.  “That belief is no longer credible. Since October 7, Jewish Australians have reported a sharp rise in harassment, intimidation, vandalism and threats at schools, universities, workplaces and public spaces. Antisemitic graffiti had already appeared in Bondi in the weeks before the attack. The violence didn’t emerge from nowhere. It was the most extreme expression of a wound to the body politic that has been allowed to fester.”

It is unclear why Albanese and his ministers did not crack down harder on ethnocentric Australians bent on demonizing, harassing and harming Jewish citizens. Certainly, Albanese’s abject failure to act resolutely has irretrievably tarnished his record, if not his reputation.

Embarrassed and chastened by the Bondi Beach atrocity, the worst single antisemitic incident in Australia’s history, Albanese has since denounced Australians who spread “hate, division and radicalization” and announced new measures to combat antisemitism, some of which were recommended by Segal five months ago.

He made that announcement as funerals were held for 10-year-old Matilda Britvan, the youngest victim, and Alex........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)