Call to criminalise threats against places of worship

[Pelican Press 0]

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Call to criminalise threats against places of worship

Threatening attacks against places of worship should be a criminal offence, a senator says, as Australia wrangles with the political fallout of a synagogue firebombing.

The attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne has shaken Australians, prompting an outpouring of community support and anger.

Calling on Holocaust survivor Max Joseph’s retelling of Kristallnacht – a Nazi pogrom carried out against Jews before the outbreak of World War II – Liberal senator Paul Scarr has urged the federal government to strengthen its hate crime legislation.

“Just as Dr Joseph saw his synagogue burning in Berlin in 1938, so too did the Jewish community in Melbourne see the Adass Israel Synagogue burning early in the morning of 6 December, 2024,” he said.

The synagogue firebombing showed Labor should expand laws to make urging or threatening attacks against places of worship an offence, Senator Scarr said.

His comments were part of a wider parliamentary report on a federal government bill to combat hate crimes and promote community respect and understanding.

The Senate committee report, released on Thursday, agreed with the bill’s general thrust but recommended the government set up a national database to track hate crimes, criminalise threats of violence against marginalised Australians, and expand the law to protect those living with disability.

The federal government has been forced to reckon with anti-Semitism after a spate of incidents in Jewish communities.

The Labor government rebuffed opposition claims it has not done enough, noting it had legislated a ban on the Nazi salute and other hate symbols, appointed an anti-Semitism envoy and passed anti-doxxing laws.

A parliamentary inquiry into anti-Semitism at universities is also ongoing, with many university executives expressing concern over the synagogue attack and a separate incident in Sydney in which a car was set on fire in a suburb known for its Jewish community.

“We, like others, have observed the increase in anti-Semitic behaviours across society, most recently in the devastating attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in our own city, and the deeply disturbing events of the last couple of days in Sydney,” Melbourne University’s interim vice-chancellor Nicola Phillips said.

“We move into 2025 with undimmed resolve to tackle anti-Semitism in all of its forms, and to make sure our campuses are safe and welcoming places for everyone, including all Jewish staff, students and visitors.”

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