Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Goldstein is home to the third-largest Jewish community in Australia—Holocaust survivors and their descendants, largely, who came to Australia for safety. This is something to be proud of. When I speak to members of the Jewish community in my electorate, they speak with such strong love for the safety their families have found here and now with such deep sadness, confusion and fear about what's happened over the last 15 months.

When I think of the Jewish community and talk about this frightful situation, my mind inevitably goes to a friend and her young, primary-school-age son. He has barely slept since 7 October 2023, and he has barely gone to school, not only because of the terror over the seas but because of his fear here. It was only when he saw armed guards at school that he would go back. This is not only sad; this is wrong.

What's happened in Gaza is terrible. I don't agree with the way it has unfolded. Questioning that, the lack of humanity in it, is not antisemitic. We must be able to demand accountability from governments across the world. But hateful rhetoric and acts against Jewish people here are absolutely wrong and must be condemned. No Jewish person—Jewish people have many views, I might add—should be blamed for the actions of a government in Israel. These are separate and must be treated as such. People have been cancelled, communities have been defaced, a synagogue adjacent to my electorate was firebombed, and credible threats of domestic terror attacks have been found.

We have been blessed to be a socially cohesive nation. Our multiculturalism has been a success story, the envy of much of the world. But, as I've said many times since entering this parliament, our social cohesion is being deeply challenged. Our geographical distance has provided us safety from many modern conflicts in the past, but not from this one. Let me be clear: antisemitism is intolerable and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. But the twin tragedies of this conflict—the suffering in Gaza and, to some degree, the West Bank, and the fear among Jewish communities—coexist. Their peace and their safety are intertwined. Defacement, demonisation and, indeed, terror do nothing but deepen these enduring wounds. We must get back to reason. When hatred is allowed to fester, it endangers all of us.

Life and death must never be weaponised for political gain, and hate, in all its forms, including antisemitism, must never be allowed to shape our discourse. I support this motion, and I thank the member for Wentworth for bringing it. I'm hopeful that legislation now before the parliament to combat hate crimes will be a substantial step forward to restore social cohesion and safety for our Jewish communities. There is more to do. I send this message to everyone in my community and the nation who is living in fear of antisemitic violence: I stand with you, and we must work together across these aisles to bring people together, not tear them apart.

See this speech in context