SPEECH: PARLIAMENTARY STATEMENT ON ANTISEMITISM
11 February 2025
The NSW Opposition joins in condemning the escalating spate of abhorrent antisemitic attacks in Sydney, in New South Wales and in Australia.
These attacks are a stain on our state, they’re a blight on our nation and they must be unequivocally condemned in this Parliament, the heart of democracy in New South Wales.
Our Jewish community has played an indelible role in shaping our cultural, economic and social fabric. Our Jewish citizens’ resilience, dedication, and deep-rooted values of learning, community and service are a testament to their invaluable place in our rich, multicultural society. From business and philanthropy to education, medicine, law and the arts, Jewish Australians have made enormous contribution to our society. Here in New South Wales, institutions like the Montefiore Home, the Shalom Institute and the Sydney Jewish Museum stand as testaments to the Jewish community’s commitment to care, education and the preservation of history.
The Jewish community isn’t just a part of New South Wales’s past but an essential pillar of its present and its future.
Australia is built on principles of respect, tolerance, and unity—values that are shared by our multicultural society and must continue to do so. Acts of hate, directed at our Jewish community, have no place in our city, our country, or indeed, anywhere in the world.
There’s no good that can come, either in New South Wales, or in the Middle East, from graffitiing a synagogue. There’s no good that can come from firebombing a childcare centre. No pursuit or cause of peace is emboldened by these actions, no social good achieved.
These attacks serve to marginalise, intimidate and persecute our Jewish community. Each incident—whether it’s graffiti scrawled on a building, places of worship firebombed, intimidation on our streets, abuse in our schools, or other acts of violence—rip at the fabric of our shared values and the freedoms we enjoy. Each attack targets not just individuals but the essence of our multicultural identity—one built on respect, faith and shared history.
Since October 2023, these attacks have steadily increased in both frequency and brazenness, from vehicles, footpaths and houses being defaced and burnt in Sydney suburbs to an abandoned caravan packed with mining explosives in Dural.
Members of our Jewish community shouldn’t have to wake each day and wonder whether they’ll hear of another antisemitic attack in our suburbs, parents shouldn’t have to worry about their children being safe at school, community members shouldn’t be afraid to enter a place of worship, residents should not have their cars graffitied or firebombed outside their homes. Jewish people shouldn’t be confronted continually by fences, buildings, vehicles and synagogues defaced with words of hate and antisemitic symbols.
All of us must do all we reasonably can to stop those who seek to intimidate and to menace the Jewish community. If the major escalation continues, these attacks could have dire consequences. I thank the police for their relentless work to apprehend those responsible for these despicable, criminal acts. These criminals deserve swift, harsh punishment and we must continue to provide the resources our police officers require for a full and comprehensive response.
These attacks are a crisis of intolerance, a threat to social cohesion, and a direct challenge to the values we hold dear.
And they aren’t just an assault on Jewish Australians—they’re an assault on the very idea of a harmonious, inclusive society. If any group feels unsafe, the integrity of our social cohesion is at risk. Today, it’s the Jewish community under threat; tomorrow, it could be another faith, another culture, another minority. When hate is left unchecked, it festers. It grows. It seeks new targets.
There’s a tendency, especially in times of crisis, to view our neighbours through the lens of geopolitical struggles. We can’t allow distant wars to divide us here at home. We can’t allow external forces to manipulate our communities and incite hatred for their own gain. As I’ve previously said, the issue of broader peace in the Middle East is one of the greatest geopolitical challenges of our time, and I acknowledge and thank all those who labour and the journey to deliver that goal.
Every act of antisemitism is a step backward in our pursuit of social harmony. It deepens fear, it erodes trust, and it creates an environment where communities feel compelled to turn inward. This isn’t the Australia we want. This isn’t the NSW we know. If we truly care about peace—whether in the Middle East or in our suburbs—our actions must reflect that commitment. Peace begins with rejecting hate in our daily lives, with building social cohesion. It begins with acknowledging shared our humanity, even amid disagreement.
Hate crimes don’t just affect individuals; they effect and shape the social climate. When synagogues need heightened security, when children require a police escort into their school, when people hesitate to express their identity publicly—that’s a loss for all of us. It’s a signal that something in our society is broken.
We can’t become a city where people fear walking the streets because of their faith. We can’t become a city where antisemitism—or any form of racism or of hate—is allowed to take root.
If we aspire to be peacemakers, we must embody these values here at home, in our workplaces and in our schools. Social harmony isn’t a passive state. It requires active effort, education, resources and courage. It requires political leaders, religious leaders, educators and community organisations to work together in combating hate. It requires action and leadership – from all of us.
