Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton condemn ‘the poison of anti-Semitism’ in Hanukkah messages

Australia’s Jewish community can reject hate through proudly continuing their traditions, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged in a message for the Hanukkah holiday.

Mr Albanese repeated his condemnation of “the poison of anti-Semitism” and acknowledged the time of celebration also comes with pain, sorrow and loss.

The eight-day Jewish holiday, also known as Chanukah, this year runs from the evening of December 25 until January 2 in a rare overlap with the Christian fixed-date celebration of Christmas.

The Prime Minister acknowledged it was a time of celebration and one of reaffirmation of faith and identity.

“What shines through it all like the brightest of threads is a message of hope, something that has taken on even greater importance,” he said.

“For Jewish people during this time, any sense of celebration carries with it the counterweight of pain, sorrow and loss. And for many, there is the agony of waiting for hostages to finally come home. None of this is how it should be.”

Mr Albanese has come under increasing pressure over his response to anti-Semitic incidents in the past year as tensions related to the Gaza conflict boil over in communities in Australia.

He used the message to Jewish Australians on Thursday to express a wish that should not be “any sense of the shadows of the past stretching into the present”.

“We condemn the poison of anti-Semitism and are steadfast in our determination to combat it. Jewish Australians are an intrinsic and valued part of the Australian story and, like all Australians, you should feel safe and secure in our modern multicultural nation,” he said.

“The strongest way to reject hate is to continue living as proud Australian Jews.

“As you light the Menorah with pride, you send a message to all Australians that hate does not win.”

It comes as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton used his own Hanukkah message, released on Wednesday afternoon, to add a political pitch to an offer of hope and solidarity.

He said Australians were seeing how hate left unchecked could unleash great evils, and were alarmed that such incidents attacked democratic values and liberties including freedom of belief.

“As fear has permeated our Jewish community, decent Australians have looked on in shock and with disgust at the intimidation, vilification and crime directed against people of Jewish faith. In a frightening way, Australians who have read about the history and horrors of the Holocaust have, for the first time, grasped how that catastrophe eventuated,” he said.

“This Chanukah, I reiterate to Jewish Australians — and indeed all Australians who cherish our way of life — that a Dutton Coalition government will provide moral clarity, deliver strong political leadership, and act decisively to restore law and order.”