Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Bondi Beach shootings as an antisemitic terrorist attack, and he blamed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Albanese, he said, had allowed antisemitism to spread, contributing to the conditions that led to the massacre. What was the Prime Minister’s supposed antisemitism? Oops! He said that a two-state solution would be good for the people living in that region.
- Netanyahu described the Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting as a “shocking antisemitic attack” and a terrorist atrocity targeting Jews celebrating a religious festival.
- He said he had previously written to Albanese warning that Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state was “pouring fuel on the antisemitic fire” and “encourag[ing] the Jew hatred now stalking your streets.”
- Addressing Albanese directly, he declared: “Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia. You did nothing to curb the cancer cells that were growing inside your country. You took no action. You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to link Australia’s policies to the Bondi Beach killings and framed the moment as one for unity and support for Jewish Australians.
- Albanese said he does not accept any connection between Australia’s recognition or support of a Palestinian state and the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack, answering “No, I don’t” when asked if there was a link.
- He dismissed Netanyahu’s claim that Australia had “poured fuel on the antisemitic fire,” and instead emphasized that most of the world backs a two‑state solution as the way forward in the Middle East.
- Albanese called the Bondi shooting an act of terrorism and antisemitism, ordered flags to half‑mast, and said this is “a moment for national unity,” stressing that Australians should “come together” and “embrace the Jewish community” rather than be divided by political blame‑shifting.
Of the two responses, only one was morally right. Unifying rather than dividing must be the way forward for politicians, not divisiveness and hatred. We have seen too much divisive rhetoric that incites hatred of “the other.” We can reject Bibi Netanyahu’s policies, and we can embrace a two state solution, and still love Israel; many Jews in Israel protest his policies without being antisemitic. Netanyahu trades on fear and divisiveness, and makes diplomacy sound like antisemitism. But many in Israel aren’t buying his lies; the recent protests in Tel Aviv can be seen here.
Why “hot lips and rhetoric?” As Steely Dan sang on the Katy Lied album, hot lips and rhetoric don’t “count much for nothing; be glad if you can use what you borrow.”
Like Trump and his “machine gun lips” P.R. flak catcher (Karoline Leavitt), Netanyahu’s hot lips and power-hungry persona will do or say anything to maintain power and control. But much of it is based on obvious lies and attempts to make political hay by creating divisiveness. (By the way, anyone still reading this blog entry might very much enjoy wearing a hat like mine that says “Make Lying Wrong Again.” You can get them in MAGA red, and get lots of double takes; compliments, too!)
So, enough with all the hot-lipped liars and their divisive rhetoric. Be glad if you really can use what you borrow; we are all on borrowed time, borrowing God’s gift of this life on Earth. May we use that gift well, to unify rather than divide, and to see ourselves and all of our nations as all worthy in God’s eyes. Not long ago, it was fairly common to see a bumper sticker that said, “God Bless the U.S.A.” But I more appreciated far more the reply bumper sticker that said, “God Bless All Nations. Period.”
The notion that you, your gender, your ethnicity, your money, or your religion give you any good reason to exclude others from your moral calculus is perfectly legal, all too common, and still wrong.