Speech: CAM Summit address

Avner's Bakery - 370/372 Bourke St, Darlinhurst NSW 2010

I’ll start with a confession: I am surprised to find myself here. Despite all that is going on in the world, and how strongly it makes me feel, I have tried to avoid making foreign affairs — and issues adjacent to them — part of my work as a councillor.

In fact, during my campaign, when I was being hounded for my position on the conflict in the Middle East I would respond, bemused, that I’d announce my position on that when Benjamin Netanyahu tells us his plan to get Sydney’s bins picked up on time.

That was perhaps naïve, because when people in the communities I represent are targeted for who they are — or for conflicts they may have nothing to do with — I cannot look away. My concern is for social cohesion in Sydney.

One reason I came here because I wanted to listen and learn; to hear different perspectives on how to be an effective ally to our Jewish community and build social cohesion. If we aren’t willing to stand up and stand with our fellow Australians when they are targeted for who they are, then our hard-fought principles become nothing more than empty slogans.

A Jewish bakery in Darlinghurst called Avner’s — run by Ed Halmagyi and his family — has been targeted with antisemitic abuse for years now since October 7: Hamas symbolism spray-painted on the windows, threatening notes under the door — “Be careful”.

Ed put it very well:

“I’m very proudly Jewish. But I’m also Australian. I’m not Israeli. If you’ve got a problem with Israeli politics or military policy, there’s a very good way to deal with that. You go to the Israeli consul. If you’re coming after me, it’s not an Israel problem, it’s a Jewish problem. And we have a word for that. It’s called antisemitism.”

I went to see Ed a few days ago, and he told me that recently, things had been going quite well on the antisemitism front; the shop had gone four whole days without an incident. But in the few days since, it was targeted again.

That is why I am here today. Because when people in my city are targeted like this, I have a duty to stand with them.

The lived reality

It’s clear to me — as it is to most Australians — that the rise in harassment, vilification and violence against Jewish Australians is unacceptable. It is urgent that we address it — as individuals and as a society.

Much of this rise is attributed to the conflict in the Middle East – often done with an intention to explain, though sometimes coming from a place that seeks to excuse.

Neither is appropriate. Whatever your views about the Netanyahu government or about Palestine, antisemitism is racism. And like all racism, responsibility rests with the perpetrators. It is unjustifiable. It is always, categorically wrong.

But when antisemitism here is discussed only in the context of events 14,000 kilometres away, some — especially on the Left — treat it as less urgent, as if when hostilities abroad end, hostility here will dissolve. That is not how hatred works. Left unaddressed, hatred accumulates.

And its impact accumulates too. You can clean graffiti. You can rebuild a synagogue. But you can’t un-have a conversation with a child about why they are unsafe for being Jewish. You can’t unhear the silence of friends who look away.

All of this has an impact. And in an egalitarian society like Australia, having to make the case for your own dignity is an indignity in itself. That principle should compel us all to stand with the Jewish community, as we ought with any community — together, as Australians.

That is why I am here.

I said I came to listen and learn, which I’ve been doing. And I also want to make three points — points I believe must be said in a forum like this.

But before I do, I too need to address that elephant in the room. This conference has attracted some controversy. Many of us, including me, have come under significant pressure to withdraw. There have been accusations that far from being a good faith effort to fight antisemitism, that this conference is really about pushing an Israeli agenda, silencing criticism of that government, and undermining solidarity with Palestinian civilians.

So, let’s look that squarely in the face, as I make my three points.

1 - Consistency across politics

First: we must fight antisemitism consistently, wherever it appears.

Anyone can recognise antisemitism in an adversary. Far fewer are willing to call it out in a friend.

I read David Baddiel’s book ‘Jews Don’t Count’ this week. He argues, antisemitism is often treated differently to other racisms. In progressive spaces in particular, it can be rationalised away —as “punching up” in the hierarchy of privilege or as an inevitable by-product of anger at Israel. That is not good enough. Progressives cannot excuse antisemitism without betraying the very values they claim to defend.

Yes, antisemitism has also emerged in conservative spaces — through dog whistles, conspiracy theories and the kinds of bald-faced marching in the streets that we’ve been seeing. If we call out antisemitism in one camp but overlook it in another because the offenders are “useful” to us, then we progressives undermine our credibility. And without credibility, well-meaning people will stop listening to us, especially when we need to be a critical friend.

And then there’s Mark Latham. Just last week he told the Jewish community to “grow up” — arguing that because some attacks have been linked to organised crime and even Iran, there is no “serious home-grown antisemitic ideology” in Sydney. As if it should be a comfort that hatred is orchestrated by a foreign power, thank goodness. He questioned how many incidents were “serious” and how many were just “low level,” and he even compared it to his own experience, saying he has endured hundreds of attacks but doesn’t “invent something called anti-Lathamism.” Anti-Lathamism… speaking of building common ground, that could be somewhere to start.

Antisemitism does not belong to one political tribe. Neither does the responsibility to confront it. The minute we treat it as if it does, we weaken the cause and betray those we are meant to protect.

2 - Alliances of Convenience

Second: If we are serious about social cohesion, we must be disciplined about alliances of convenience, who we let into this movement. It is very hard to take talk of “cohesion” seriously from anyone associated with Advance Australia — a group that has spent years vilifying minorities and sowing division.

And it is difficult to see figures here who have publicly targeted other Australians — particularly Muslims — for who they are.

I want you to know that while I ultimately chose to come, these elements made it difficult. They do not speak for me, and I hope they do not overshadow the core concern at the heart of this event: antisemitism in our communities.

I say the same about the Harbour Bridge March, where extremists waving banners or portraits of the Ayatollah did not discredit the genuine humanitarian concern for civilians in Gaza that motivated so many — including me — to attend. So yes, I came anyway. But hear me: it was not easy, and I know allies who might have been here chose to stay away.

If we welcome people into this movement simply because they are strong on antisemitism while they are weak — or hostile — on other forms of prejudice, we make it very difficult for others to stay in the tent. Racism must be called out in all its forms. That is what solidarity means.

And that solidarity is so necessary right now. We’ve seen it recently in Melbourne, where neo-Nazis targeted Indian Australians and attacked the First Nations protest site at Camp Sovereignty — leaving some hospitalised. They also attacked a jew. When hatred is bold enough to march unmasked in broad daylight, it shows we have ignored those pulling at the loose threads of our cohesion for far too long. Multiculturalism is the fabric that binds us together, and right now we need all hands holding it together in solidarity.

And solidarity is not just moral; it is strategic. Admitting racists narrows the coalition – some come in, but more turn away. And it risks cornering concern for antisemitism into a partisan issue. Once tied to partisan winds, success becomes fragile — hostage to the politics of the moment.

That is something we, as leaders, cannot afford. It is something our Jewish friends and neighbours cannot afford.

And it is something our country cannot afford.

3 - Antisemitism and Israel

My third point: antisemitism must never be used to shield the Israeli government from legitimate criticism. And nor should criticism of Israel ever be used to excuse or diminish antisemitism. Both are wrong.

It should not be difficult to reconcile these ideas. There’s a time when they were firm common ground. But I worry about the growing distance between people of good faith who are being cornered by hard liners into holding only one of these positions closer than the other. It needs to be both.

Its true, you cannot comprehensively address antisemitism without acknowledging where it intersects with illegitimate criticism of Israel, yes. But also, you cannot address it without the support of those who are deeply critical of Israel’s policies and conduct. Closing hearts and minds to otherwise-receptive allies only hands allyship over to those with no genuine interest in solving the problem, but in continuing exploiting it.

Take me, for example. I can stand here with you as a friend, but also as someone who marched across the Harbour Bridge because I oppose the horror the Netanyahu government is inflicting on Palestinian civilians. The scale of the humanitarian crisis is an atrocity; I condemn it; and it must end.

I say that — and, in the same breath, say antisemitism is racism and is always wrong. If views like these disqualify someone from allyship, then this is no longer just a conversation about antisemitism. Valid criticism of Israel must never be a barrier to being part of this fight. Excluding those voices shrinks the coalition we need.

Closing

Friends, I began with Ed’s bakery because the heart of this is human. Jewish Australians deserve to live with safety, with dignity, and with the confidence that their neighbours will stand with them when it counts.

A principled, disciplined, inclusive fight against antisemitism is how we can win.

A fight that names antisemitism for what it is.

A fight that doesn’t back down when it gets politically inconvenient.

A fight that welcomes legitimate criticism of Israel.

A fight that builds solidarity by excluding those who sow division.

A fight that confronts antisemitism across politics wherever we find it.

And above all, a fight that holds fast to equality for all Australians — Jewish, First Nations, Chinese, Muslim, Arab, and beyond. If we hold that line, we will not only defeat antisemitism — we will strengthen the very fabric of our shared society.

That is the coalition worth building.

That is the coalition that can last.

And that is the coalition I am committed to.

Thank you.