Statement on Adass Israel Synagogue Attack

The attack against Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne is abhorrent.  I express my horror and revulsion at this despicable act.

This is an attack not just on Jewish Australians but on all who value the mutual tolerance, understanding and respect which is central to Australia's success as a multicultural, multiethnic, multifaith nation.

A small minority of people are seeking to import into Australia sectarian hatreds and violence which have no place here.  

The great majority of Australians are rightly dismayed at these developments.  

We have a shared responsibility as a community to speak out against violence, antisemitism and racism.

This violent incident is the latest of many despicable acts of antisemitism in Australia, since the October 7 2023 terrorist attack on Israel. 
 
Anyone who seeks to minimise the significance of these antisemitic attacks is ignorant of the lessons of history.

It is horrifying that sympathisers of the terrorist organisations Hamas and Hezbollah are active in Australia.

The lack of clear leadership on this issue from Prime Minister Albanese, Foreign Minister Wong, Home Affairs Minister Burke and other senior Labor figures is very troubling.  At a time of unprecedented unrest and threats to public order and safety, they have let Australians down with their weak, equivocal language and lack of moral clarity.

For my part, along with all of my Liberal and Nationals colleagues, I unreservedly condemn the Adass Israel Synagogue Attack, and the pattern of antisemitism we have seen in the last fourteen months. 

I am proud to represent the electorate of Bradfield, the federal electorate which has the second largest Jewish community in New South Wales, and I stand in solidarity with the Jewish people - of Bradfield, Australia and the world - in these dangerous and unsettling times. 

Paul Fletcher MP