Sydney’s Christian leaders have declared Israel’s military response to Hamas cannot be used to justify the explosion in anti-Semitism in Australia, and the ceasefire must put an end to a recent wave of anti-Jewish hate crimes. Source: The Australian.
Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel and Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Australia Makarios Griniezakis issued a joint call to reject the “normalisation of hatred” based on religious beliefs and the “seriously misguided” use of the actions of the Israel Defence Forces to attack Australian Jews and synagogues.
The intervention by the archbishops comes amid escalating anti-Semitism in Australia and as Israel and Hamas prepared for the first stage of the ceasefire, which began yesterday after a three-hour delay.
“Some have sought to justify anti-Semitic behaviour by referencing the actions of the state of Israel in its war against Hamas, but such a moral calculus is seriously misguided,” they said.
“It does the very thing it purports to abhor: the targeting of innocent civilians. There is no logic to attacking Jewish people in Australia as a means of ‘resisting’ the actions of another nation’s military.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday stressed Australians wanted “action, not meetings” to combat the escalating anti-Semitism crisis as NSW Premier Chris Minns conceded imminent hate-speech law reform could have been enacted sooner.
The leaders’ warning followed Friday’s latest anti-Semitic attack, where cars were torched and vandalised in Sydney, and the former home of Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin doused in red paint.
The archbishops declared there had been a “sinister” motive behind recent anti-Semitic attacks, which were a danger to “all of us”.
“History shows us of how the dehumanisation of the Jewish people can quickly descend into violence, even genocide. A society that tolerates anti-Semitism is regressive in treating some people, based on their religious or racial affliction, as ‘fair game’.”
FULL STORY
Sydney’s Christian leaders issue joint call to end hate crimes (By Dennis Shanahan and Alexi Demetriadi, The Australian)
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