Bradfield candidates share personal stakes and policy depth

In a Federal Electoral Forum defined by civility and depth, but marked by moments of powerful personal testimony, Bradfield candidates Gisele Kapterian and Nicolette Boele addressed a packed crowd at Sydney’s North Shore Synagogue on Tuesday night.

The event, presented by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), unfolded with a sense of gravity shaped not only by policy concerns but also by lived experience.

Independent candidate Boele spoke candidly about her childhood on Sydney’s North Shore, recalling the day in 1986 when swastikas were spray-painted on the administration building of Killara High School. “Many Jewish students didn’t come back for weeks. Some transferred to Masada,” she said. “That was my first real experience of what antisemitism feels like, and how it wounds a community.”

Boele said, “I’m the daughter of migrant parents; not Jewish, but I grew up in Gordon, Killara and St Ives, and went to Killara High. Many of my neighbours and friends are Jewish.”

She explained that after a controversial social media post in 2022, she had taken active steps to learn and listen to the Jewish community. These included attending ECAJ briefings, visiting the Sydney Holocaust Museum, and meeting regularly with rabbis and Jewish communal leaders. She also attended the October 7 commemoration in Vaucluse and spoke with Jewish parents and teens in St Ives who feel increasingly unsafe.

 

“Antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem; it’s an Australian one,” Boele said. “As an independent, I’m free to speak out unequivocally and act without party pressure.”

Liberal candidate Kapterian brought her own deeply personal context to the conversation, highlighting her Armenian heritage and the legacy of genocide in her family. “My father was five years old when he was marched across the Syrian desert because of his faith,” she said. “My parents were born in Jerusalem; my father in the Christian Quarter.”

She cited the chilling quote attributed to Hitler, “Who remembers the Armenians?”, to emphasise the dangers of silence and historical amnesia. “Let me be clear: I stand firmly against antisemitism. The right of Israel to exist and defend itself is fundamental. The job of government is to keep its citizens safe. That includes Jewish Australians.”

Both candidates expressed a strong commitment to combating antisemitism. The evening’s Q&A segment revealed a series of concrete proposals that received bipartisan support. Both candidates backed a judicial inquiry into antisemitism on Australian university campuses, and both supported the creation of a national task force to coordinate intelligence and law enforcement responses to antisemitism, with independent oversight reporting to the federal parliament’s intelligence committee.

One of the clearest contrasts between the candidates emerged in their approach to combating antisemitism. Kapterian advocated for a tough legal response, backing mandatory sentencing for hate crimes and criticising what she described as slow leadership from the Prime Minister. She argued that current laws were failing Jewish Australians and that security agencies must be empowered to act decisively.

Boele, while supporting stronger laws, placed greater emphasis on education and community engagement. She called for a national definition of antisemitism to guide schools, police and institutions, stressing that cultural change requires more than legal deterrence. It also requires understanding and relationships.

They agreed on the need for a national definition of antisemitism to ensure consistent application across policing, education and government funding bodies. On the issue of arts and education grants, Boele argued that public funding should be withdrawn, and possibly reclaimed, from organisations promoting antisemitism. Kapterian endorsed this view, adding that free speech must not become “a shield for hate.”

Mandatory sentencing for hate crimes was another point of consensus, with Kapterian stating that “the law is failing our communities,” and Boele agreeing that tougher deterrents are needed.

A point of difference was the question of preferencing the Greens. Boele was unequivocal in her response, stating she was not preferencing the Greens or any other party, and was simply asking voters to “put me first and then vote in the order they choose.” By contrast, Kapterian made it clear that her how-to-vote card placed the Greens last.

Boele and Kapterian have faced off at many community forums. However, the Liberal candidate has so far declined an invitation from the ABC’s 7.30 program for a televised debate. While no official reason has been given, it is understood that the Liberals are wary of giving further visibility to their high-profile teal challenger. Unlike typical contests where the Liberal defends a seat, Kapterian is not the incumbent; she is seeking to replace outgoing MP Paul Fletcher.

Boele, who secured nearly 46 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote at the last election, is running a well-resourced campaign backed by Climate 200, private donations and a volunteer army she says is just shy of 1,300 strong. Her ads and corflutes are highly-visible across the electorate, reflecting the intensity and competitiveness of this by-election. She may also be advantaged by the recent extension of the electorate’s boundaries.

The forum made clear that while the candidates differ in style and political alignment, they agree on many issues both have grappled seriously with the fears and aspirations of Bradfield’s Jewish voters, not just in policy, but through memory, learning and lived connection.