Sinagoge Burned, Netanyahu Accuses Australia's Anti-Israel Policy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left)/PHOTO via Instagram @b.netanyahu

JAKARTA - The Australian government has confirmed its efforts to deal with anti-semitism or anti-Yahud after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Australia of carrying out anti-Israeli policies related to the synagoge arson attack in Melbourne.

Netanyahu accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party government of pushing for crimes such as the attacks on Friday, December 6 against Israeli Adass synagoge.

"Unfortunately, this criminal act cannot be separated from the spirit of anti-Israel that blows from the Labor government in Australia," Netanyahu wrote on X.

Murray Watt, Australian Minister of Manpower and Relations, stressed the Albanese government had taken firm action against antisemitism and removed it.

Since taking office in May 2022, the Australian government has disbursed 25 million US dollars to Jewish organizations to improve security and safety on Jewish sites, including schools, prohibit Nazi respect, and take action against hate speech, Watt said.

"I respectfully disagree with Prime Minister Netanyahu on this matter," Watt said in Brisbane.

Albanese condemned the attack on sinagoge by saying there was no place for antisemitism in Australia.

Meanwhile, the police are still looking for two people who are suspected of deliberately starting a sinagoge fire that injured one person and caused damage.

Australia has experienced an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023. The law passed last year prohibits the appearance of symbols of terror groups in public.

However, several Jewish groups say the Albanese government has not done enough to address the increase in antisemitism.

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protests over the past year have been largely peaceful, although the government expressed concern that the protests could fuel public tensions and disrupt social harmony.