Australia’s Jewish Attorney General has been subjected to a barrage of anti-Semitic abuse for condemning the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Mark Dreyfus, whose own father fled Nazi Germany, has been under siege from pro-Palestinian activists and other Left-wing Twitter trolls ever since he delivered a speech to parliament to ‘mourn the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust’.
In the speech on Monday, he recounted his father’s journey to Australia as a child when he and his parents fled Nazi Germany.
‘I am the son of a Holocaust survivor who, as a young boy, was forced to flee his home in 1939 and travel to the other side of the world,’ he said.
‘His life was at risk because – and only because – he is Jewish. My father and my grandparents escaped. More than six million Jewish men, women and children did not escape.’
Mr Dreyfus’ father George, after settling in Melbourne with his brother and parents, went on to become a successful composer.
Mr Dreyfus’ father George, after settling in Melbourne with his brother and parents, went on to become a successful composer (Pictured: Mr Dreyfus stands with a portrait of his father)
Mr Dreyfus went on to say that he, and Australia, supports Israel’s right to defend itself.
‘Antisemitism has been called ”the longest hatred”,’ he said.
‘The Nazis did not invent it. As the events of the last week have demonstrated all too tragically, antisemitism did not end when the Nazis were defeated.
‘Make no mistake: this was not just an attack on the State of Israel and on the people of Israel. This was an attack on the Jewish people.’
But the speech was immediately criticised on social media platform X, with Mr Dreyfus called a ‘coward’, a ‘disappointment’ and ‘shameful’ – with pro-Palestinian critics demand he ‘stop talking for them’.
Mr Dreyfus was inundated with hundreds of negative and hateful comments about his position.
His colleagues in Parliament – including Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie and Labor minister Clare O’Neil – have acknowledged Mr Dreyfus in speeches this week.
Quoting Mr Dreyfrus’s speech at a community event they both attended, Senator McKenzie said: ‘I was moved and struck in particular by the contribution of the Australian Attorney-General.’
October 7 marked the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, when terrorist organisation Hamas launched a multipronged assault on Israel, targeting festivalgoers and civilians.
In his speech, Mr Dreyfus said: ‘In the shadow of the Holocaust, Australia supported the legitimate right and aspiration of the Jewish people to establish a Jewish homeland
The moving speech attracted immense criticism on social media platform X, where Mr Dreyfus has been subjected to vitriol for voicing his opinion
He was called a ‘coward’, a ‘disappointment’ and ‘shameful’ as critics demand he ‘stop talking for’ them
At least 1,700 Israelis and 2,750 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing battle, as Israel launches airstrikes and a ground assault on Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack.
The Australian government has joined most of the governments around the world in condemning Hamas’ assault, but the Greens party have argued there should also be an acknowledgement of the brutality of Israel’s response.
Israel has given civilians in northern Gaza a warning that they should evacuate south, as a humanitarian crisis grips the region with UN officials warning the healthcare system is on the brink of collapse. Similarly, food, water and power resources are running dangerously low.
In his speech, Mr Dreyfus said: ‘In the shadow of the Holocaust, Australia supported the legitimate right and aspiration of the Jewish people to establish a Jewish homeland.
‘Australia unambiguously supports the right of Israel to defend itself today. At the same time the Australian government will continue to support the legitimate rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people.’
The Australian government’s official position is the two-state solution, in which Israel and ‘a future Palestinian state coexist in peace’ with internationally-recognised borders.
This aspiration has been significantly hurt by the latest conflict.
Mr Dreyfus said while everyday Israeli and Palestinian civilians support such a solution, ‘Hamas does not share this aspiration; Hamas has never shared this aspiration.
‘As the founding charter of Hamas declares, its aim is to obliterate Israel.’
Mr Dreyfus said while everyday Israeli and Palestinian civilians support such a solution, ‘Hamas does not share this aspiration; Hamas has never shared this aspiration
Pictured: Gaza after an Israeli retaliation attack
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