January 23, 2025
The opposition has accused the Albanese government of lacking transparency amid claims that foreign actors may be funding antisemitic violence in Australia.
This comes after the Australian Federal Police (AFP) appeared to backtrack on allegations that foreign actors were behind the rising wave of antisemitic crimes across the country.
Amid political backlash from the opposition that the government had allowed homegrown antisemitism to “fester”, authorities pointed to potential foreign involvement.
The AFP and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese indicated investigations were looking into the possibility of foreign actors provoking the spate of hate crimes.
Following the opposition's demands for transparency, AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw revealed that no evidence links foreign actors to the attacks.
Mr Kershaw's comments further deepened the political row, leading to accusations that the government has obfuscated on the matter.
“It is not clear at all what the Albanese government is actually alleging on this question at all at this point,” shadow home affairs minister James Paterson told Sky News.
“It's clear that some people may be being paid to engage in these firebombing attacks on the Jewish community. It is not clear where some of those payments came from.
“The Albanese government has not been clear about what they knew about this, when they knew about it, or what action they are taking.”
The AFP Commissioner confirmed investigations into high-profile antisemitic crimes, including the firebombing of synagogues, have not uncovered direct links to foreign groups.
Instead, police suggest that local criminals may have been hired through “crime as a service” gangs, but these have not been identified.
“We believe criminals for hire may be behind some incidents,” AFP Commissioner Kershaw said.
“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,"
Amid mounting pressure over the rise in antisemitic violence since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Prime Minister Albanese has defended his government’s response.
Following revelations about the possibility of foreign actors, Mr Albanese declined to elaborate on the allegations to avoid compromising the investigation.
“I’m reluctant to say anything that compromises those investigations, but it is important that people understand where some of these attacks are coming from,” he said.
“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. It’s unclear who or where the payments are coming from.”
The AFP's Operation Avalite, which was established to investigate antisemitic crimes, remains ongoing, with at least 15 incidents currently under investigation.
Authorities have suggested the number of attacks will continue to increase.
