Anthony Albanese was rushed back into his car after abruptly cutting short a press conference outside a Melbourne synagogue that was bombed in a suspected terror attack.
Albanese planned to answer questions from the media outside the synagogue, but the news conference ended abruptly when a crowd gathered around him, some heckling him.
“You’re late,” a woman shouted at Mr Albanese, appearing to take a swipe at Mr Albanese for playing tennis in Melbourne just a day after the attack and taking 48 hours to label it as a terrorist event to label.
“Let this happen, friend,” she shouted.
AFP officers were forced to shout at bystanders, urging them to “keep your distance” and “be careful, be careful, come back” as his motorcade tried to leave.
Last weekend, Albanese’s government was condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for promoting a rise in anti-Semitism in Australia.
Meanwhile, the Australian Jewish Association said anti-Semitism had “spiked” under the Albanian government.
Anthony Albanese planned to answer media questions outside the synagogue, but the news conference ended abruptly when a crowd gathered around him, some heckling him.
AFP officers were forced to shout at bystanders, urging them to ‘keep your distance’ and ‘be careful, be careful, get back’ as his motorcade tried to leave
A woman in a green shirt harassed Mr. Albanese
“Labour has watched as ugly anti-Semitic protests have taken over our streets week after week,” Gregory said.
“They have watched as ‘Free Palestine’ extremists targeted Jewish synagogues and schools. This week there was an anti-Semitic protest outside Sydney’s Great Synagogue.
“Labour has stood by as extremist Islamic preachers have preached virulent anti-Semitism. They watched as Jews were attacked in the streets and our universities were taken over by anti-Jewish radicals who set up camps.”
Israel’s war in Gaza was sparked by the attack by designated terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
According to the local health ministry, the official death toll in Gaza has passed 44,000, with tens of thousands more missing or believed to be under the rubble.