The shy response of the prime minister to anti -Semitic terror is dangerous. Silence is surrender

One of the basic failures that support this crisis is a misinterpretation of tolerance. Australia is proud to be an open and inclusive society, but inclusion does not mean tolerate the intolerable. Support for leaders and terrorist groups is not freedom of expression, nor is it a legitimate expression of diversity: it is a direct threat to social stability. When governments do not call this unequivocally, They allow a dangerous dynamic by which extremists feel emboldened, and the broadest population becomes resentful and anxious. An anxious audience is not resistant.

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While the growing cost of living is at the forefront of the minds of most Australians, physical and social insurance must continue to be the highest priority of the government. People must feel safe, and that security is reinforced not only for surveillance, but for a clear and decisive leadership.

The government approach, avoiding public discussion for fear of inflaming tensions, belongs to a past era. Excessive reluctance was a defective strategy even before social networks, but now, in an era in which digital communications dominate all aspects of our lives, it is a responsibility.

Government hesitation leaves a vacuum full by those who want society to break. Without a direct and frequent public commitment, we give ground to those who distort the facts, promote dangerous ideologies and promote violence.

Asio’s head, Mike Burges, was swaying in the breeze last September after he told ABC that the organization evaluated the participants to Australia for any national security risk, which might not cover someone who had only expressed ” Rhetorical support “for Hamas. In the midst of the political controversy that followed, the government should have changed quickly and emphasized that the broader visa check, of course, would include rhetorical support for Hamas, but that this was not the work of Asio. That did not happen, which led to days of public anger and confusion.

Equally dangerous is the government’s will to enjoy false equivalences. Responding to attacks on Jewish Australians condemning “all forms of hatred” or vaguely mentioning “anti -Semitism and Islamophobia” is politically weak and strategically harmful. Each act of violence or intimidation must be condemned for what it is, without coverage, without grouping disparate problems together and without fear of offending those who sympathize with extremists.

This failure of clarity extends to the revision of Australian terrorism laws, where it is discussed on the elimination of the requirement of an ideological reason. Instead of diluting definitions, the government should lead the discussion about what ideology is, why it matters and how extremism feeds.

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The government’s refusal to deal with reality is in the heart of this crisis. There is no neutral land when it comes to national security. Try to placate all parties responding too slowly and minimizing threats only emboldene to those who seek to justify intimidation and violence.

Everyone accepts that history and geopolitics are complex, especially in the Middle East, but there is no justification to bring foreign conflicts to Australian streets. We like it or not, Federal Government’s hesitant responses have facilitated a false equivalence between Israel and Islamist terrorist groups, emboldeing extremists who now see Australia as a battlefield for their ideological struggles.

Australians can see that the world is unstable and do not appreciate being fired or deceived. The fact that the Government does not get honestly involved is counterproducting. Public trust erodes when people feel that their concerns are ignored and social cohesion weakens without leadership. To maintain our national resilience, the government must take a step forward, speak clearly and reaffirm the values ​​that make Australia a safe and united society. Silence is not a strategy, it is a surrender.

John Coyne is the director of National Security Programs at Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

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