Joel Burnie, executive manager of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, told concerned audiences that leaders who take antagonistic positions toward Israel are actively fueling violence and normalising hatred on Australian streets. His warning is not idle talk — Burnie has been sounding the alarm repeatedly since the Hamas massacres of October 7, 2023, arguing that what began as anti-Zionist rhetoric has metastasized into violent antisemitism. Australians who care about law, order, and decency should be listening and demanding accountability from those in power.
The data Burnie points to is chilling: antisemitic incidents surged in the hours after October 7 and have continued to spike, from threats and vandalism to outright assaults and arson. This isn’t a vague trend; it’s a lived reality for Jewish families who once trusted Australia as a safe haven and now feel under siege. If a government allows mobs and radical ideologues to set the tone, it forfeits the very social contract that keeps communities safe.
We’ve already seen the consequences: a synagogue hit by a suspected arson attack in East Melbourne, diners assaulted at an Israeli-owned restaurant, and disturbing episodes of intimidation and violence that mirror what happens in failed cities abroad. These are not isolated acts of youthful bravado — they are the predictable outcomes of emboldened hatred left unchecked. Ordinary Australians should be outraged that their streets are being allowed to become battlegrounds for foreign wars by proxy.
Burnie doesn’t mince words about the political dimension: he told international audiences that Canberra’s drift away from bipartisan support for Israel has contributed to a poisonous atmosphere. When leaders flirt with equivocation or virtue-signalling at the expense of clear moral lines, they send a message to extremists that their actions will be tolerated. A nation that values freedom and the rule of law must reject cowardly ambiguity and restore firm, principled leadership.
Conservative solutions are straightforward and effective: law enforcement must prosecute hate crimes swiftly and visibly, political leaders must reassert unequivocal support for persecuted allies, and public institutions from universities to the media must stop normalising antisemitic rhetoric. Pretending this is merely a debate about foreign policy is a dereliction of duty — this is about the safety of our neighbors, friends, and fellow citizens. The days for appeasing mobs or excusing violence in the name of politics must end.
Australians who still believe in national cohesion should take Burnie’s message as a call to action: demand that elected officials put community security above partisan posturing and that institutions stop enabling hatred under the banner of protest. Our values — liberty, faith, and mutual respect — need defenders in parliament, in the courts, and on every street corner. If conservatives lead now with clarity and courage, we can stop the rot before it spreads further.
This is a moment for Patriots to stand tall and be heard: stand with Israel, stand with Jewish Australians, and stand against the cowardly politicians and commentators who excuse hate for short-term applause. Safety, law, and moral clarity are not negotiable. Americans and Australians who cherish freedom should demand the hard choices from their leaders and refuse to let our societies be reshaped by violence and silence.
