Another graffiti attack as antisemitic solution sought
More cars and buildings in Sydney have been spray-painted with anti-Jewish slogans as the nation’s leaders remain at odds on how to combat a string of attacks amid rising community anguish.
Police on Sunday are investigating an overnight spate of “offensive graffiti” in Kingsford in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The attacks targeted vehicles and garages with spray paint, and images online show cars damaged with graffiti saying “f*** Jews”.
President of The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies David Ossip said: “Yet again, there have been further incidents of despicable antisemitic graffiti in Kingsford and Randwick.
Cars and homes were defaced with hate speech for the sole purpose of intimidating and terrorising the Jewish community and destabilising Sydney’s social harmony.
We have been in contact with law enforcement who are on scene and investigating both matters.
There have been more than 10 publicly reported serious incidents of antisemitic vandalism, arson and worse in the last three weeks alone – a figure that doesn’t include the graffiti appearing on our streets on a daily basis or the abuse and harassment that goes unreported.
It is incumbent upon society as a whole not to become desensitised to this campaign of domestic terrorism.
This is not normal. This isn’t the Australia we know and love.”
The damage emerged as federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton put major tech companies in the firing line over concerns young people are being radicalised amid the spate of anti-Semitic attacks.
Social media platforms profiting off kids need to do more to keep them safe online but failed to do so because of a focus on profits, he said.
“Our kids are on their devices constantly, the same rules should apply online as they do in the real world,” he told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
“If there’s child abuse material, which I’ve tried for years to get Facebook to take down, if there is that sort of explicit material, if there is terrorist-related advocacy and spreading of that hate message, they have the algorithms.
“They have the technology and now the AI to be able to clear it but of course, they don’t because they’re driven by profit.”
The comments come amid concern from the Australian Federal Police that overseas actors paid local criminals to conduct anti-Semitic attacks in Australia.
Previous attacks have included the firebombing of a synagogue and torching of multiple cars, which were also graffitied with the Nazi swastika and anti-Semitic language.
“As (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general) Mike Burgess would point out, a young person sitting in front of a computer screen can be indoctrinated over a week or two because of the constant videos and bombardment of propaganda,” Mr Dutton said.
“So there’s obviously the influence of social media, there’s the influence of people who are radicalised here in our own society.”
Mr Dutton said ambiguity from the government about activities such as anti-Israel protests around university campuses that impacted Jewish students had resulted in an environment that allowed anti-Semitism to fester.
He accused the prime minister and universities of not being strong enough in condemning anti-Semitic conduct.
“To this very day, the universities haven’t given a proper account of how that was allowed to continue on,” he said.
“The prime minister did nothing about it, the marches on the streets that went on for months and months, waving flags of terrorist organisations, all of that allowed people to believe that there was no red line that could be crossed and there’s no consequence.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly and unequivocally condemned acts of anti-Semitism and called for perpetrators to be hunted down and prosecuted.
Federal and state police had investigated and charged people over the waving of terrorist flags at protests.
Pro-Palestine rallies are planned for Melbourne and Sydney on Sunday.
University heads have said they needed to balance free speech legal requirements on campus, noting this did not extend to violence, threats and intimidation.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth accused Mr Dutton of playing politics with a serious issue.
“It’s unacceptable that there are people of Jewish faith feeling unsafe in this country but for the government it’s about being responsible and making sure people are actually safe, not playing politics,” she told Sky News.
“So if the leader of the opposition just wants to play politics with this then he should be condemned, quite frankly, because it’s about what actually leads to safety in our community.”
Mr Dutton has called for mandatory minimum prison time for terrorist offences to be included in hate speech laws set to come before the parliament in the coming days.
Doubt has been cast by the legal fraternity, human rights groups and the government about the effectiveness of mandatory minimum sentencing.
AAP/J-Wire
This is how I think as a country with such diverse make up of many cultures and religions – these problems are not new and have been happening for many many years.
The problem lays within each culture to educate others about their beliefs and practise. Freedom is allowed only when it is legal and done with out intent to harm others. This is inclucivity. If you wish to practise and conduct oneself taking no regard to the morale and ethical behaviour and in flagrant violation of Australian Law – these solutions might correct the behaviou occuring
1. Media in any format should be held accontable for what they publish and a set of stringent pensalties should apply immediately when they breach. It is their duty of care to the total community takes prefence. If need be they should lose their right to publish – – they must check the reported facts before publishing and when they quote some ones message or point of view publish their name – one gives up their right to privacy when conducting oneself in such a matter.
2. Giving criminal convictions and placing people in prison does not kill the cancer – you are sending them to the university of hatred. Prisons should only be used where persons are indangering others and themselves. When sentising jail should become a life sentence and remission of years only granted after a minimum time served and granted where noticipable change has occured. no softness. Society needs to be protected by heavy parole conditions when granted.
3. When some one commits these offences they should immediately loose their right to any form of social welfare bennefits and any assets they have are to be taken, divested and sold and funds go to victims. To keep such person in line and correct their behavious they need to know that not only them but their family associates and friends will be investedgated and if found to be complicit they will have similar penalties applied to them and so on down the line.
4. Where the perporator is a none Australian citizen or dual national, nationalise Australian deport tation should be applied in the harshest of terms to them and their families assioates and friends. We need to demonstrate they are not welcome in our country.
5. Deradicalisation of these people is only through education that one has a chance to change their views and behaviours. So to be fair to them they will forfiet their rights – will be allowed to mork to a maximum of 4 days a week so as to support themselves and family. The 3 remaining days of the week they will be require to attend deradicilasion clases of a minimum of 8 hours each day and continue until they are able to demonstate their change. Failure to comly they go to jail and are never to be released.
What are the thoughts and feelings of others, that we should take in account – open the dabate to all and not rely on GRAND Standing Politiations.