Australians and Israelis are set to rally outside the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv on Friday, protesting what they see as Canberra’s failures to address rising antisemitism in the country and policies that have weakened diplomatic ties with Jerusalem.
Demonstrators have been directed to bring Australian and Israeli flags to the rally to urge Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government to do more to protect the Australian Jewish community amid a rise in violent incidents.
Since the October 7, 2023, massacre, Australia has seen a wave of antisemitic vandalism and arson attacks, including against synagogues.
Last Tuesday, Albanese alleged that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was responsible for at least two arson attacks on Jewish sites, leading to the expulsion of senior Iranian diplomats and the withdrawal of Canberra’s own mission in Tehran.
Protest organizers allege that Albanese’s August 11 proposal to recognize a Palestinian state had encouraged antisemitism and rewarded Hamas for committing the October 7 pogrom in southern Israel.
“Australia is giving a prize to terror by recognizing a Palestinian state,” Australian-Israeli event organizer Michael Frumer said in a press release.
“This irresponsible – even incomprehensible – move disincentivizes Hamas from reaching a ceasefire deal, since the terror group now believes it can achieve its goals through international pressure on Israel, instead of negotiation,” he added.
“The veteran Jewish community in Australia feels abandoned, and the Australian government must act immediately to protect its Jewish citizens and reaffirm its alliance with Israel,” he continued.
The organizers were also concerned about how the move had weakened ties between Australia and Israel. Israeli and Australian leaders have been locked in an extended exchange of jabs and insults since Canberra’s commitment to a Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called his counterpart a “weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews” on August 20.
Albanese said that he didn’t take the comments personally, but Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke struck back with a
more heated remark, stating, “Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry.”
The protest organizers were also critical of the denial of a visa to Religious Zionist Party MK Simcha Rothman, who had been set to visit Australia for a solidarity tour with the Jewish community. In response to the August 18 decision, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that he would revoke the residency permits of Australia’s representative to the Palestinian Authority.
“Having grown up in Australia, I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that I would need to protest against the country’s leaders and policies like this,” said Frumer. “It feels that the Australia we knew – the one of tolerance, acceptance, and values – has made way for one of extremist views that panders to terrorists and Jew-haters.”