The Israeli and Albanese governments are again at loggerheads publicly over Australia\u2019s escalating antisemitism, amid speculation about who could be paying \u201ccriminals for hire\u201d to make attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said on Wednesday: \u201cthe AFP\u2019s investigative lines of inquiry are looking at whether some individuals have been paid to carry out some antisemitic acts in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We believe criminals for hire may be behind some incidents. So part of our inquiries include: who is paying those criminals, where those people are \u2013 whether they are in Australia or offshore \u2013 and what their motivation is. Crime is globalised, criminals are using anonymising technology and we know 70% of criminals who target Australia are offshore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday, Kershaw disclosed the AFP was looking into whether overseas actors or individuals have paid local criminals to commit antisemitic attacks. The police were also looking at whether young people had been radicalised online and encouraged into antisemitic activity, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But so far the Australian authorities appear to have little idea about the intricacies of the local wave of antisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Agencies are saying they have multiple lines of investigation and are not ruling out specifics motives or actors. This suggests they do not have evidence of offshore extremist groups or governments directing attacks or the involvement of domestic extremist organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kershaw is anxious to reassure the Australian public the police are doing everything possible to get arrests, and explaining that the situation is a complex part of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is important we share this information with the public so they understand how seriously the AFP is taking these investigations and to explain why there will be lengthy investigations,\u201d he said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Israel\u2019s latest blunt criticism of Australia, the Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel accused the Albanese government of fuelling the violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cObviously the attitude of the current Australian government towards Israel is inflaming a lot of these emotions and giving [\u2026] some acceptance when you do not fight it,\u201d she told the ABC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Haskel, who also criticised Australia earlier this week, said the Jewish community needed action through deterrence, investigation and prosecution. \u201cWords are not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are they waiting for? For someone to die? For someone to be murdered?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While saying she would not be surprised if foreign funds were being used to pay people to make attacks, Haskel said \u201cI don\u2019t think all of them can be attributed just to that\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected Haskel\u2019s criticism. Referring to measures the government had brought in, he said, \u201cwith respect to those comments that this government is somehow waiting is simply not right\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson agreed with Haskel\u2019s criticism of the government, pointing to the length of time it took for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to hold a national cabinet on antisemitism, which he did this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paterson called for more information on the investigation of whether foreign-based actors might be involved in the attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis either means, if it is true [\u2026] that a transnational terrorist organisation is sponsoring attacks in Australia or potentially that a foreign government is engaging in state-sponsored terror targeting the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Albanese refused to be drawn into giving more information, saying \u201cI am not going to compromise the investigations\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government announced that Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus (who is Jewish) will lead Australia\u2019s delegation to next week\u2019s commemoration in Poland marking 80 years since the last people were freed from Auschwitz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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