Perth rabbi slams Albanese on refusal for royal commission after warning him about terrorism fears in 2024

A Perth rabbi has unleashed on the Prime Minister and revealed he warned Anthony Albanese a year ago that his Government’s stance on Gaza “could embolden terrorism” in Australia. David Freilich’s original letter to Mr Albanese in December 2024 spoke of his “deep respect” for him, but expressed disappointment and concern that a “weak” response to the rise of anti-Semitism could strengthen terrorists to believe they have an ally in government. He said mentioning Islamophobia “in the same breath” as anti-Semitism lessened the impact of the Government’s response to anti-Israel protests. “In their eyes, you have rewarded the Hamas terrorists for their monstrous atrocities of October 7th, 2023,” Mr Freilich wrote. “I pray that I am wrong for the sake of all my fellow Australians.” This week, in the wake of the deadly Bondi attack, Mr Freilich has written to the Prime Minister again to demand a national royal commission into the Bondi massacre. “Tragically, the consequences of your inaction have been devastating,” he said. “The loss of 15 innocent Australian lives is a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked hate and extremism. Your failure to address these issues has brought shame and disrepute to Australia. “I implore you to take responsibility for your government’s actions and call a federal royal commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding this tragedy. “I can no longer say that I respect you as Prime Minister. Your apparent prioritisation of political expediency over the safety and well-being of Australian citizens is appalling”. Rabbi Freilich hadn’t seen the Prime Minister’s two-page response, that was emailed 109 days after his letter was sent, but found it in his synagogue’s inbox on Tuesday. He described it as “generic”. It wasn’t Mr Albanese who replied, but Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman. He assured Rabbi Freilich that the Australian Government “unequivocally condemns” anti-Semitism or “hatred of any kind”, had established a joint agency operation to investigate high harm matters, and provided $78 million to boost security at Jewish schools and community sites. Mr Gorman said the Government had criminalised doxxing, the public display of nazi and terrorist symbols and strengthened hate speech laws. “The Australian Government has full confidence in State and Tterritory police to manage any local protest activity that may involve violence or incite hatred,” he said. There was no offer of further discussion. Mr Freilich said on Tuesday that the Jewish community feels ignored, but insisted a national royal commission would help. “I don’t think they’ll ever forgive (Mr Albanese) but at least then we’ll feel he’s doing something to ensure this will not happen again,” he said. “At least then Australia will understand what has happened here and the cause of it.” ASIO chief Mike Burgess warned in March he was worried about the “normalisation” of violent protest and intimidating behaviour. “Australia’s Jewish community is seeing this first-hand,” he said. “Anti-Semitism festered in Australia before the tragic events in the Middle East, but the drawn-out conflict gave it oxygen – and gave some anti-Semites an excuse. “Jewish Australians were also increasingly conflated with the State of Israel, leading to an increase in anti-Semitic incidents. “Narratives originally centred on ‘freeing Palestine’ expanded to include incitements to ‘kill the Jews’. Threats transitioned from harassment and intimidation to specific targeting of Jewish communities, places of worship and prominent figures. “I am concerned these attacks have not yet plateaued.” The Prime Minister has rejected claims he didn’t heed those warnings. “We created and have launched a National Hate Crimes and Incidents Database,” Mr Albanese told reporters on Tuesday. “We’ve imposed counter-terrorism financing sanctions on the white supremacist terrorist network Terrorgram. And importantly, we uncovered . . . the involvement of the IRGC, the Iranians, over some of the anti-Semitic incidents that had occurred. “And we expelled the Iranian ambassador. That is the first time that an ambassador has been expelled from Australia since the Second World War. “Now, we know that there is more to do as well. We’re going to legislate a crackdown on preachers and leaders who promote violence. “We’re going to introduce new powers to cancel or reject visas for those who spread hate and division in this country. And importantly as well, we’re going to make sure that extremists can’t buy high powered weapons over the counter.” Mr Albanese denied the decision not to hold a royal commission amounted to “gaslighting” Jews who are calling for one. “I want answers too, and I want justice done,” Mr Albanese said “Our position is not out of convenience, it is out of conviction that this is the right direction to go in.”