Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

Last night Australians joined Jewish communities at candlelight vigils for the victims of the October 7 terrorist attacks—those who lost their lives, those taken hostage and those they have left behind to live in mourning and fear. I was honoured to join the Israeli ambassador, His Excellency Mr Amir Maimon, colleagues and friends at the Israeli embassy here in Canberra. It was a solemn and deeply moving experience for us all, as it was for those attending events across Australia, including in my home state of Western Australia, whose Jewish community I know and value so well. We prayed last night for a safe return of hostages taken in the attacks. We prayed for peace in a region where it's so desperately needed. We prayed for strength in the face of ongoing danger and uncertainty for so many in Israel, in Australia and around the world. We remembered the tragic loss of more than 1,200 people—men, women, children and the elderly, all of them innocent victims—and we stood united in our unequivocal rejection of terrorism as a means of securing political outcomes.

On 7 October 2023 was the single deadliest loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust. A year on, it is as disturbing now as it was then. The world was supposed to have relegated bloodshed like this to the history books. We were supposed to have left antisemitic violence and hatred like this behind us. Instead, the world took a devastating step backwards 12 months ago when Hamas militants crossed the border and committed unimaginable atrocity. People were gunned down in a music festival and in their homes. They were beaten, assaulted and snatched away to be held as hostages. This was not a theatre of war or a strike targeting military assets; it was a hate crime, a murderous rampage against people who had a right to live in peace and security.

For the families who have had loved ones killed, there is a feeling of loss that remains very raw. Those who are dead should be here with us today. Their lives were stolen by Hamas and its depraved ideology and opportunism. We mourn their loss. For the relatives and friends of those held in Gaza, there is an incomprehensible sense of dread and despair over the dangers those hostages remain in. Many of the people living in the invaded kibbutzim were humanitarian workers or Israeli citizens who were otherwise compassionate for the issues affecting civilians in Gaza. Residents in the town of Be'eri, for example, organised programs that transported Gazan medical patients to hospitals in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Palestinians worked in Be'eri's fields and local businesses. They were neighbours, but this meant nothing to Hamas. Their homes were burnt down and their lives were taken all the same.

The victims of 7 October and the broader Jewish world have also suffered intense fear for the future: the future of Israel, the future of the Middle East and, indeed, the future of Jews everywhere. The fear is that the antisemitism of the past has returned, and is at a level we haven't witnessed for over 80 years. What is most confronting of all is that we are seeing hatred of Jewish people here, in our own Australian communities. We're seeing it on the streets of our major cities, in our universities and on social media. It must be called out without fail, and we will continue to do so. This is unacceptable, it is deplorable and it is indefensible. It is also un-Australian. Nobody in this nation should go through what our Jewish communities are going through. No Australian should live in fear of their fellow citizens or doubt that they belong in their homes, their schools or their workplaces. I should not hear from frightened Jewish constituents in Perth under ongoing threat as they worship or collect their children from Jewish schools.

This country was intended by them, as it was by all our forebears, to be a safe haven—a place where citizens could live in harmony and mutual support, regardless of ethnicity or religion. Our values and loyalties are tested at times like these, and it cannot be a test that we, as Australians, fail. A year on, we, with the Jewish people of Australia, must remain in opposition to all forms of anti-Jewish hate, setting a positive example of tolerance and understanding to others not only in our own country but also around the world.

But there was also another theme that emerged last night. It was that, despite these endemic feelings of disbelief, fear and grief, hope does remain. Last night, at a vigil attended by the opposition leader, Mr Dutton, among others, David Ossip, the president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, said of Jewish people: 'Resilience runs through our veins.' It is impossible to disagree with this claim. Resilience is the hallmark of the Jewish people—a characteristic of people who have bravely endured a history of persecution. It is a testament to this that, despite this history, the people of Israel live. They are faced with ongoing hatred and discrimination, with remarkable personal loss and with living with security challenges we cannot fathom, but a year on from the events of October 7, the people of Israel continue to live.

As I did last night, I will continue to pray for the safe release of the hostages, the defeat of those who risk the future of Israel and humanity—Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis—and a long-overdue and lasting peace for those who deserve it. I pray for Jewish people here in Australia and, indeed, for all Australians. I pray that we remember the values that define us and which should ensure we live in harmony with and with respect for each other always.