The bold response of the Prime Minister to anti -Semitic terror is dangerous. Silence is a surrender

One of the main failures that underlie this crisis is the wrong interpretation of tolerance. Australia is proud of being an open and inclusive society, but inclusivity does not mean tolerate unbearable. Supporting terrorist leaders and groups is not a free language, nor a legitimate expression of diversity is a direct threat to social stability. When governments do not call it unambiguously, They allow dangerous dynamics, through which extremists feel enhanced, and the general population becomes indignant and alarming. The alarming public is not stable.

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Despite the fact that the growing cost of living is in the foreground in the mind of most Australians, physical and social security should remain the highest priority of the government. People should feel safe, and this safety is supported not only by police activities, but a clear, decisive leadership.

Government approach – avoiding a public debate about the fear of defeating tension – belongs to the past era. Excessive restraint was a false strategy before social media, but now, in an era in which digital communications dominate all aspects of our lives, is responsibility.

Government pregnancy leaves a vacuum that is filled with those who want society to be broken. Without direct and frequent public involvement, we give a reason to those who distort facts, push dangerous ideologies and promote violence.

Asio Chairman Mike Burgess remained in the wind of the last September after he reported ABC that the organization appreciated Australia’s participants at any risk of national security, which could not cover someone who only expressed “rhetorical support” for Hamas. Among the political dispute, the government had to deploy quickly and emphasized that a wider visa check would, of course, include rhetorical support for the hama, but this is not the work of Asio. This did not happen, which led to the days of public anger and confusion.

Equally dangerous is the government’s willingness to indulge in false equivalence. Response to attacks on Jewish Australians, condemning “all forms of hatred” or vaguely mentioning “anti -Semitism and Islamophobia” is both politically weak and strategically harmful. Each act of violence or intimidation must be convicted of what it is – without hedging, without losses between different problems, and without fear of offending those who sympathize with extremists.

This failure of clarity extends to the review of Australia’s terrorism laws, where the discussion of eliminating the requirement for the ideological motive. Instead of diluting the definition, the government must lead the discussion about what ideology is, why it matters and how it fueled extremism.

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The government’s refusal to combat reality is the basis of this crisis. There is no neutral position when it comes to national security. Attempting to place all sides, responding too slowly and degrading threats, only encourages those who seek to justify intimidation and violence.

Everyone accepts that history and geopolitics are difficult – not least in the Middle East – but there is no excuse to attract foreign conflicts on Australia Street. Whether or not, the flashing of the federal government has contributed to the false equivalence between Israeli and Islamist terrorist groups that enhance extremists, which now view Australia as a battlefield for their ideological struggle.

Australians can see that the world is unstable and does not appreciate its release or misleading. The failure of the government is honestly involved in reverse. Public trust is destroyed when people feel that their anxiety is ignored and social cohesion is weakened without leadership. In order to maintain our national sustainability, the government must activate, speak clearly and confirm values ​​that make Australia a safe and united society. Silence is not a strategy – it is surrender.

John Koin is the director of national security programs of the Australian Institute for Strategic Policy.

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