Coalition calls on PM to give details on foreign actor involvement in anti-Semitic attacks

The Coalition is calling on Anthony Albanese to give more details about the alleged involvement of foreign actors in the recent spate of anti-Semitic attacks gripping Australia’s biggest cities.

The Prime Minister dropped the revelation on Tuesday and has refused to give any further details since.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said on Wednesday the development would “strike terrible fear” and it was “incumbent” on Mr Albanese to “say more about what he knows”.

“It will be one of the most serious security crises that Australia has faced in peacetime,” Senator Paterson told the ABC.

“It either means that a transnational terrorist organisation is sponsoring attacks in Australia or that a foreign government is engaged in state-sponsored terror targeting of the Jewish community in Australia.

“And this claim will strike terrible fear in the heart of the Jewish community and other Australians who feel like they’re on the receiving end of this.”

He said Mr Albanese was “irresponsible to put out such a serious claim without more substantiation”.

Peter Dutton has also called on Mr Albanese to provide more information during a press conference slamming Labor’s handling of anti-Semitism.

“When did the Prime Minister find out that there were foreign players?” the Opposition Leader said.

“Are these state actors or organised crime groups? Or are they anti-Semitic groups? What did the Prime Minister know?”

He said Mr Albanese “should provide what information he can publicly”.

But Mr Albanese said he had done precisely that.

Speaking to reporters in Sydney, he said he was “reluctant to say anything that compromises” investigations.

“But it is important that people understand where some of these attacks are coming from, and it would appear, as the AFP Commissioner said yesterday, that some of these are being perpetrated by people who don’t have a particular issue, aren’t motivated by an ideology but are paid actors,” Mr Albanese said.

“Now, it’s unclear who or where the payments are coming from.

“The AFP Commissioner will continue to do his job as the head of Operation Avalite, and we have co-operation across the board from Commonwealth and state police and intelligence agencies as well.”

Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw delivered a brief video statement on Wednesday clarifying what investigators were looking at.

He said the AFP believed “criminals for hire” could be behind some of the incidents.

“So part of our inquiries include who is paying those criminals, where those people are, whether they are in Australia or offshore and what their motivation is,” he said.

“There is still a lot of investigative work to be done, and we are not ready to rule anything in or out.”

Mr Kershaw noted that criminals often used anonymising technology and “70 per cent of criminals who target Australia are offshore”.

“It is important we share this information with the public so they understand how seriously the AFP is taking this investigation and to explain why there will be lengthy investigations,” he said.

‘Denies agency’: PM’s snub to Israeli official

Meanwhile, Mr Albanese rejected a claim by a senior Israeli official that Labor has stoked anti-Semitism in Australia.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said on Tuesday there was “no doubt” the surge in anti-Semitism in Australia “has been caused in part by the Australian government’s ongoing campaign against Israel”.

During his Wednesday press conference, Mr Albanese said the claim “denies agency”.

“I don’t suggest for a second that anyone other than Hamas is responsible for the October 7 attacks,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Western Sydney.

“Not for one second. Because those people who are the perpetrators of these hateful crimes need to be held to account.”

Ms Haskel’s comments came after a non-Jewish childcare centre in Sydney’s east was defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti and set alight – the latest in a spate of attacks targeting synagogues and suburbs with high Jewish populations.

When she made the claim on X, Ms Haskel was reflecting on her meeting last week with Labor’s most senior Jewish MP, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.

“I expressed to him my disappointment with the shift in the Australian government’s attitude towards Israel,” she posted.

“I emphasised our deep concern regarding the shocking rise in anti-Semitism in Australia and the clearly ineffectual response from the Australian government and state governments.

“There is no doubt this has been caused in part by the Australian government’s ongoing campaign against Israel.

“I expressed my expectation and hope that Australia’s policy towards Israel will return to reflecting our longstanding relations based on shared values and interests.”

Mr Dreyfus’ trip to Israel had meant to help repair relations with the Netanyahu government amid severe friction over the high civilian and aid worker death toll in Gaza.

During his press conference, Mr Albanese also hit back against allegations at home that his government has been too slow to act on anti-Semitism.

He said his government had “called out every one” of the attacks.

“We’ve acted from day one,” he said.

“And I’ll tell you what is of some concern is people who seek political advantage from what is a traumatic circumstance.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government is aiming to “hunt down” the perpetrators of an anti-Semitic attack on a childcare centre in Sydney’s east. The PM has announced new measures to address anti-Semitism in Australia following a meeting of the national cabinet on Tuesday night. “We want to see them face the full force of the law,” Mr Albanese said during a press conference.

He went on to hit out at Mr Dutton, who has been highly critical of Labor’s handling of the recent attacks and made an election pledge to bring in mandatory sentencing for terrorist acts in response.

“Peter Dutton, for someone who was responsible for some national security issues as minister for home affairs, should know better,” Mr Albanese said.

“We have acted. We have established the first envoy on anti-Semitism.

“That could have been done by the former government. We’ve outlawed Nazi and hate symbols. That could have been done by the former government.

“We’ve outlawed doxxing. That could have been done by the former government.

“We’ve provided increased security funding for synagogues, places of worship, schools, etc.

“That could have been done by the former government as well. What we have done is act.”