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Despite a surge in antisemitism, the Royal Commission’s interim findings barely confront the ideology driving it.

The Royal Commission into anti-Semitism released its interim report today.

159 pages.

And how many times, in 159 pages, do you think Islam was mentioned?

I won’t keep you in suspense.

Eleven times.

Do you not find that strange?

Islamic extremism is clearly behind much of the antisemitism we’ve seen in this country over the past two years.

As the report itself acknowledges, antisemitism ramped up after the October 7 attack on Israel by the Islamist group… Hamas.

Islamic extremists in this country celebrated the murder of Jews by Islamists on October 7.

Islamist preachers have regularly stirred up hatred against Jews in Australia – celebrating the murder of Jews and describing Jews variously as monsters, schemers and wicked.

And ASIO reported that the Islamic Republic of Iran had been behind attacks on Jews in this country.

I’m not saying that Islamic extremism is the only source of anti-Semitism in Australia. Not at all.

Sadly, antisemitism is found everywhere.

But only a fool would downplay the role of Islamic extremism in the escalating anti-Semitism we’ve seen in this country.

Antisemitism hasn’t been fuelled by radical Catholics, or Baha’i extremists or Salvation Army officers intent on jihad.

So what were the 11 mentions of Islam in the Commissioner’s interim report?

Well, Islam was mentioned twice in relation to Islamophobia, and twice when referencing news articles. So we can discount those four mentions as having nothing to do with the subject at hand.

The remaining 7 mentions of Islam in the report?

There were four references to Islamic State, one reference to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, one reference to Man Monis, who took hostages at the Lindt Café 12 years ago, and one reference to Islamic terrorism. One.

How you end up with one specific reference to Islamic terrorism in a 159-page report prompted by the worst Islamist terror attack in the history of this country is… a mystery.

I mean, Islamic State literally put out a newsletter praising the attack and calling it a model for Muslims around the world to follow.

I’m not sure how you can seriously analyse the lead-up to the Bondi massacre without seriously addressing the deadly serious issue of Islamic extremism.

There were twice as many references to Islamophobia in this interim report as there were to Islamic terrorism.

Let that sink in.

Albanese Takes Credit for a Fight He Refused to Join

Anthony Albanese accepted the report today, with its 14 recommendations.

And, incredibly, he attempted to take credit for having been dragged kicking and screaming into calling for the Royal Commission:

Five months on from the attack, Australia’s Jewish community is still grieving, still hurting, still craving answers… And that’s why my government set up the RC on Anti semitism and social cohesion.

That’s not exactly true.

We all remember that in the aftermath of the Bondi terror attack, Anthony Albanese insisted there was no need for a Royal Commission.

When he eventually called for one, it wasn’t in response to grieving, hurting Jews so much as in response to the embarrassment of being called out by an 88-year-old swimmer who showed more spine than Anthony Albanese, Tony Burke and Penny Wong put together.

Back in January, when the Albanese Government was steadfastly resisting calls to do the very thing they now want credit for, Dawn Fraser told journalists:

To you, Anthony Albanese, Tony Burke, Penny Wong, come down off your high horse and stop trying to run for cover. If the Jewish community is calling for a royal commission, then do the right thing by this community that has suffered enough. This is not about the spineless and weak; it’s about doing the right thing.”

Anthony Albanese told journalists today that his government would accept all 14 recommendations from Commissioner Virgina Bell – many of them related to better co-ordination and structuring of counter-terrorism measures.

Which, naturally, begs the question… counter-terrorism measures against whom?

How can you address the threat if you’re not specific about it?

Recommendation 7 suggests that the PM himself, along with Tony Burke and Penny Wong, should participate in counter-terrorism training.

Now that’s a good suggestion… but shouldn’t that ring alarm bells?

How did we get to a situation in this country where the national cabinet needs regular training on how to deal with terrorist attacks?

Anyone?

It’s all very well for the PM to say his government accepts the recommendations of the report.

But why should we, as a people, have to accept that terror attacks on our home soil are now just part and parcel of life in Australia?

Football, meat pies, kangaroos and regular counter terrorism training for government ministers… it’s not how the song is meant to go.

But Holden cars don’t exist anymore. And neither does the country we once knew.

So what happened?

Would it not be prudent to state plainly where the source of this terror was coming from and to deal with it at its source?

I mean, if we knew?

Why Do Jews Need Police Protection Just to Gather in Public?

Recommendation 1 from the interim report is that all public Jewish events and festivals should be accompanied by a highly visible police presence.

Again, good suggestion.

Had there been a highly visible police presence at Bondi Beach on 14 December, 15 now-deceased Australians would probably be alive.

But again, it begs the question. Why do Jews in this country need a police guard every time they gather in public?

Are we happy for that to be… just one of those things?

Italian Australians don’t need police protection.

Greek Australians don’t need a security detail.

Is it not worth asking specifically: Where is the threat to kill Australian Jews actually coming from? And maybe doing something about that?

At the very moment the government is promising – hand on heart – to do whatever it takes to protect Australians from terrorism, they are washing their hands of any responsibility for allowing people who joined the most violent Islamic group in the world to come back here to live.

Make that make sense?

Accepting the Report Won’t Bring Back 15 Australians

The PM claimed today that in the wake of the Bondi attack, his government had acted to protect Jewish Australians … which, if you think about it, was actually a pretty damning admission:

In the wake of the Bondi terror attack my government took immediate action to bolster the resources of our security agencies, tackle anti-sem, crack down on hate preachers and deliver tougher gun laws.

Yes, the government did act… in the WAKE of the Bondi terror attack… having ignored warnings for the better part of two years that Jews being killed was inevitable if anti-semitism in our universities, in our mosques, in our arts community and on clear display in our streets every single weekend… was not strongly dealt with.

The government took immediate action in the wake of the Bondi terror attack is no help to the 15 Australians who lost their lives and cold comfort to the families.

The interim report raises some interesting questions…

How is it that in recent years, funding for national security has increased, but resources for detecting terrorist threats have significantly declined, even as the terror threat was raised to “probable”?

How is it that the role of joint counter-terrorism coordinator, which was full-time until 2019, had become a part-time role in recent years?

How is it that NSW police, when asked to provide security for the entirety of the Bondi Beach event, sent only four officers and told them there was no need to stay for the duration?

Those are incredibly important questions that deserve full and serious answers.

But the elephant in the room… the question I’d like to see answered… is how did we get to the point that any of this is necessary?

And do we have the courage to do something about it? Or is this just the way things are now?

By the way, the release of the interim report into Antisemitism comes just days before Clover Moore’s Sydney City Council makes its facilities available for a forum on why people should be allowed to call for a global uprising against Jews.

The Prime Minister, who stood in front of the media today, holding the interim report into antisemitism, promising to do whatever must be done to protect our Jewish community, can’t even get around to publicly calling out the Sydney Lord Mayor’s reckless behaviour.

Poor fellow, my country.

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Republished with thanks to The James Macpherson Report. Image courtesy of Adobe.