Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar did not mince words in directly blaming the government of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for Sunday’s deadly Chanukah party shooting in Sydney, arguing that Canberra’s recognition of a so‑called “Palestinian state” has not only fueled antisemitic sentiment, but had now led directly to violence against Jews on Australian soil.
In a message on X, Zohar wrote: “It must be said plainly, without sugarcoating: Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state was an official endorsement to the damned terrorists to harm Jews. The blood of our brothers and sisters is on your hands.”
Zohar’s stark condemnation follows a broader written rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose Aug. 17 letter to Albanese was described by Australian media as “blistering” and “explosive.” In it, Netanyahu warned that Australia’s political positioning — particularly its then-imminent recognition of “Palestine” at the UN General Assembly — had contributed to a dangerous spike in antisemitic violence.
Netanyahu’s letter detailed a series of attacks on Jewish Australians, including an arson assault on a Hebrew congregation in East Melbourne that forced worshippers to flee during Shabbat dinner. More broadly, he said, Albanese’s moves signal weakness in the face of growing Jew‑hatred: “Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire,” the Israeli leader wrote, comparing the spread of antisemitism to a cancer that “spreads when leaders stay silent, it retreats when leaders act.”
The prime minister urged Albanese to take a page from US policy, invoking President Donald Trump’s protection of American Jewish civil rights as a model of decisive leadership. Netanyahu gave the Australian prime minister a one‑month window to reverse his course, suggesting Sept. 23, 2025 — Rosh Hashanah — as a symbolic deadline. His message was unequivocal: “History will not forgive hesitation. It will honor action.”
Albanese did not act. And now 12 innocent Australian Jewish citizens are dead, the victims of an unrestrained and largely un-confronted hatred.
In statements released after their recognitions of a Palestinian state in September, Canadian and Australian leaders framed their decisions within the framework of a two‑state solution, asserting a commitment to peace and security for both peoples. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer likewise said his government’s move aimed to “keep alive the possibility of peace.”
Yet all three nations have become not only increasingly hostile toward Israel, but increasingly dangerous for the Jews residing there.
In Jerusalem, the message has been consistent. The Israeli Foreign Ministry labeled recognition of “Palestine” a “reward for Hamas terror” and warned it would further destabilize the region. Foreign Ministry spokesmen pointed to admissions by Hamas leaders themselves, who have called such recognitions a direct outcome — the “fruit” — of the Oct. 7 massacre. Indirectly, this legitimizes violence against Jews everywhere.
For Israelis, the dispute is not abstract policy disagreement — it has real and tragic consequences for Jewish communities everywhere.
As Zohar’s devastating words put it: the moral and physical fallout of political decisions now has human lives attached to it. The blood of our brothers and sisters, he asserts, is on your hands.
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