Mr Speaker, over summer, we have witnessed scenes of depravity and hatred most of us thought we would never see in New South Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A holy synagogue defiled by a hateful swastika.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A childcare centre deliberately set on fire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nazi slogans \u2013 copied from the darkest pages of history \u2013 spraypainted across Jewish cars and Jewish property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To a person, these have been cowardly acts, conducted under the cover of darkness, designed to bully and intimidate and threaten the Jewish people of our great state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But we are here today, as a parliament, as representatives of this open and tolerant state, to say in an unambiguous way that this campaign of hatred will fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will fail \u2013 because the Jewish community is strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will fail \u2013 because our Jewish friends have an entire state behind them \u2013 with the laws and the resources and the solidarity needed to destroy the poison of antisemitism wherever it takes root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Speaker, the Jewish people of New South Wales are proud, but they are understandably exhausted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As one parent told the media earlier this month: \u201cI\u2019m just tired. I want it to stop. I am sick of waking up to find out something else has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the stories we are hearing will break your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of schoolkids \u2013 who are now afraid to wear their uniforms in public as they walk down the street to their local school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or of parents \u2013 who have started driving their kids everywhere \u2013 so they don\u2019t have to risk a trip on the bus or the train. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We will not be a state where someone feels like they have to remove their yarmulke just to walk down the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where people are made to hide their heritage \u2013 because of the ignorance, the bigotry, the racism of other people \u2013 people they\u2019ve never met before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Speaker, that has never been New South Wales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And today \u2013 and in coming sessions of parliament \u2013 we will introduce new and stronger laws that target this kind of antisemitism and racial hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These laws we hope will send the clearest possible message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are serious crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you\u2019re going to commit these acts \u2013 if you are thinking about spreading racial hatred on our streets \u2013you will face these full penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These changes include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re also backing these laws in as well, Mr Speaker, with more funding for the Hate Crime Unit in the NSW Police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More training and support for local councils. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We believe they\u2019re strong laws, that will be a genuine deterrent, and we want to put resources behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And send a message that if you\u2019re going to get involved in this kind of bastardry: the police will track you down \u2013 they will find you \u2013 and you will be punished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Speaker, one public act of antisemitism is too many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A summer of rolling hatred is obviously intolerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Operation Shelter, stood up by the NSW Police, has arrested 173 people \u2013 with over 460 charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strike Force Pearl is now targeting vandalism and arson, and we\u2019ve doubled the number of detectives on the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But we do recognise that no one in this place will be judged by the laws we pass, or the taskforces that are established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ll be judged by the crimes that are stopped \u2013 and the feeling of safety that can return to our community as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know David Ossip is here today as President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies. I\u2019d like to acknowledge his guidance and support as well as his personal strength and leadership throughout these very difficult times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Speaker, for as long as modern Australia has existed, Jewish people have made their home in this state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1788, there were eight Jews on the First Fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were victims of poverty in East London, like later Jewish migrants who were fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe, and those who settled here after the great evil of the Shoah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For generations of Jewish people, Australia has offered a promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that promise has been very simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite centuries of horrifying violence \u2013 Australia would be different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia would be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This would be a country that accepts and celebrates these ancient people \u2013 a place where this community could live and prosper in peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 1860s, a Rabbi travelled here from Jerusalem, Rabbi Jacob Levi Saphir, and he was amazed at what he found: \u201cThe Jews live in safety and take their share in all good things of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn this land, they have learnt that the Jews are good people, and hatred towards them has entirely disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is in 1860, Mr Speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think it\u2019s important we observe that the vast, vast majority of Australians of different ethnicities, nationalities, faiths, religions celebrate and love our Jewish friends and fellow citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We work together \u2013 we often send our kids to the same schools \u2013 we live side by side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a democratic country like Australia there will be debate about foreign policy issues, wars, conflicts, rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And of course that includes the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have to say Mr Speaker, I\u2019ve found that most Australians \u2013 regardless of their race, religion or perspective \u2013 want, would argue for, and indeed many pray for, Israeli and Palestinian children to live in peace in that holy land \u2013 and an end to all wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We must, however, make it absolutely clear that nothing that happens overseas, in any context can ever be used as a pretext for hate, antisemitism or division here in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People have come from around the world \u2013 from different races and religions \u2013 because we are a peaceful, tolerant country that has been free of this kind of racial or religious division and ancient hatreds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And we can\u2019t bend on this principle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one is entitled to bring their bigotry to our country \u2013 and we won\u2019t tolerate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In New South Wales \u2013 we will never harbour the poison of antisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Antisemitism is a particularly sinister, shape shifting in form, and the bigotry is widespread. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So often \u2013 what has begun as hate speech against the Jewish people has led to violence, it has led to persecution, it\u2019s led to murder, and it\u2019s led to genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is the reason we\u2019re here today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a state \u2013 as a community \u2013 as a Parliament – as friends and neighbours \u2013 so that we can root out this kind of behaviour \u2013 and end this shameful chapter of the history of the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mr Speaker, over summer, we have witnessed scenes of depravity and hatred most of us thought we would never see in New South Wales. A holy synagogue defiled by a hateful swastika. A childcare centre deliberately set on fire. Nazi slogans \u2013 copied from the darkest pages of history \u2013 spraypainted across Jewish cars and … Continue reading “Parliamentary statement on antisemitism”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31282,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31281\/revisions\/31282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}