Family First today urged the Minns Government to fight Australia’s on-going antisemitism crisis by lighting the Opera House sails with the star of David.
“This would send a powerful message that antisemitism and Jew hatred is unAustralian. We also need to send an urgent message that Jews and Israeli citizens are welcome and always will be in Australia,” Family First National Director Lyle Shelton said.
“Whether Jews are slaughtered at a music festival in Israel or on Bondi Beach, antisemitic violence must be condemned.
“Sadly our government has not stamped out public acts of support of violence and even rewarded it by recognising a Palestinian state,” Mr Shelton said.
“Sadly there were Muslim leaders like Sheik Dadoun who celebrated the October 7 atrocities and continued to publicly back Hamas and Hezbollah as recently the October 2025 celebration of October 7 in Paul Keating Park in Bankstown.
“When Muslim leaders are calling for Hamas and Hezbollah to be de-listed as terrorist organisations in Australia and describing Hamas’s use of civilians in Gaza as human shields as ‘resistance’ we should not be surprised when violence visits our nation,” Mr Shelton said.
“Tragically last night’s massacre did not happen in a vacuum. Australia’s political leaders capitulated to a baying mob calling for violence against Jews at the Opera House on October 9, 2023. Weakness at that point allowed two years of escalating antisemitism culminating in last night’s massacre.
“For two years protestors have been on our streets and even the Harbour bridge calling for a genocide of Jews ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘death to the IDF’. Tragically it was only a matter of time before a tragedy like last night occurred.”
Mr Shelton praised the extreme courage of the Muslim fruit shop owner who tackled one of the gunmen.
“Clearly there are Muslims who represent the best of what it means to be Australian. Sadly there are too many Australian Muslim leaders and other Australians who were prepared to turn a blind eye to the October 7 atrocities so they could fuel antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in Australia.”
Mr Shelton said Family First’s prayers were with Australia’s Jewish community and with the families of the dead and wounded.
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