Andrew L. Urban
The Royal Commission on Antisemitism was reluctantly established, but only as a fig leaf for the naked antisemitism of Labor. The interim report delivered today, its focus on the security agencies, contains some common sense recommendations (which may not have required a Royal Commission). Hampered as it is by the very events that gave rise to it, the December 14, 2025 murders themselves being before the courts, and thus unable to call the alleged perpetrators nor witnesses to the massacre, confidence in a comprehensive final report is low. Will it examine the socio-political environment in which antisemitism flourished?
Dear Royal Commissioner Virginia Bell, I submit (as I have done in my detailed formal submission) that the drawn out equivalent of a version of Kristallnacht had more to do with the massacre by two alleged terrorists of 15 mostly Jews at Bondi last December than failures of the security and intelligence services. But thanks for the report today, as much a political smokescreen for the PM as a genuine advisory. We can’t forget how reticent the PM was to establish the Commission; he wasn’t sure he could protect himself and his foreign minister from the findings. But then he did have control over the terms of reference….
Kristallnacht, also known as the Night of Broken Glass, was a violent pogrom against Jews in Nazi Germany on November 9-10, 1938. Thousands of Jewish businesses and synagogues were destroyed, and approximately 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps, marking a significant escalation in the Nazi regime’s anti-Jewish policies. It came after constant antisemitic rhetoric from Hitler’s Nazis.
Now, some will say the analogy with Australian antisemitic violence in the 21st century is meritless. Let me explain why I think it is apt in my view. First and foremost, it is that the antisemitic environment in Australia was propelled by the rhetoric of the state. Just as Kristallnacht was. While tut-tutting about antisemitic violence post October 7 – both verbal and physical – the government’s indifference effectively endorsed it by its inexcusable inaction and inexcusable actions (see my submission) providing the socio-political environment where it would flourish.
A couple of telling examples from my submission where actions speak loudly:
Late 2022–Early 2023: Doubling Aid to UNRWA The government announced it would double annual funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from $10 million to $20 million, supporting Palestinian refugees. This was praised by Palestinian advocates but criticized by some as indirectly aiding groups hostile to Israel (especially amid later UNRWA controversies). Back in October 2017, writing in The Spectator Australia, I complained that Australia, then even as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, was providing aid of $43.8 million to the Palestinian Territories, which in turn paid terrorists. In 2017, half of the US$693 million that the PA receives as foreign aid, US$345 million, was paid out as stipends to convicted terrorists and their families. The Foundation for the Care of the Families of Martyrs is dedicated to assisting an Arab who has been “wounded, killed, or otherwise affected as a result of their joining the revolution or the presence of the revolution,” against Israel and operates within the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Social Affairs. In 2016 it supported 35,100 families. David Adler of the Australian Jewish Association soon added his voice calling for this aid to be reconsidered; it was halved under the Coalition government; Labor’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong reinstated it.
Immediately following the October 7 Hamas attacks, Albanese condemned the terrorism but emphasized that Israel’s response must be “proportional” and respect international law, including protecting civilians in Gaza. This was interpreted as prematurely constraining Israel’s self-defence.
August 12, 2025: Statement on Netanyahu Being “In Denial” Over Gaza Suffering Albanese accused Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu of being “in denial” about the suffering inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza, amid calls for a ceasefire. This personal critique was seen as escalating Australia’s criticism.
September 21–22, 2025: Formal Recognition of the State of Palestine PM Albanese issued a statement recognizing the State of Palestine, aligning with a UN General Assembly vote in September. He emphasized Australia’s historical role in Israel’s creation but pushed for Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution. This was hailed by Hamas and Palestinians in general but condemned by Israel as premature and rewarding terrorism.
As for inaction, Australians will be painfully aware that public displays of violent antisemitic rhetoric by Muslim preachers and other leaders was greeted with Labor inaction, right from the day after October 7. University campus camps intimidated Jewish students. Attacks on synagogues were met with finger wagging and formal statements.
Madam Commissioner, please do not insult our intelligence by ignoring this underlying issue in your final report.
Jews have leant on humour over the ages to help cope with their miseries. So let me close with a Jewish joke.
Two Jews are sitting on a bench, reading newspapers. One notices with surprise that the other one is reading a viciously antisemitic Nazi paper. ‘Why are you reading that?’ he asks. The second Jew sighs and asks, ‘What does your Jewish newspaper say about the Jews?’. The first Jew looks at his paper and says, ‘well… it says that Nazis are stealing our property and that we’re being taken away in trains’. ‘Exactly’, said his friend, ‘In this Nazi paper, we control the world’s economy and we’re an unstoppable force. So tell me the truth: which Jew would you rather be?’.