By Michael Gencher 

Australia can continue down this path, where grievance and division define our national life, or we can reclaim unity before it is too late.

When a mob of pro-Hamas supporters poured onto the steps of the Sydney Opera House on October 9, 2023, waving flags and chanting in celebration and solidarity with Hamas’s October 7 massacre, many of us in the Jewish community knew immediately that something in Australia had shifted. It was a moment of national shame. Hate was no longer whispered or hidden. It was flaunted in the very heart of our democracy.

What was even more alarming was the response – or rather, the lack of one. Our governments, state and federal, failed to draw a line. There was no firm condemnation, no clear statement that Australia would not tolerate calls for the death of Jews on its most iconic landmark. The silence set a precedent. It told extremists of every stripe that the public square was theirs for the taking.

August 31 proved just how dangerous that precedent has become. Across the country, marches drew in a disturbing mix of people: far-left activists, far-right agitators, neo-Nazis, pro-Hamas supporters, those who openly support terrorism, and even some who seemed to have no idea what they were aligning themselves with. What united them was not policy detail but grievance, anger, and the certainty that they could gather, shout, and intimidate without consequence.

And here lies the stark reality: it did not matter which side was marching. Whether it was the far Left railing against Israel, the far Right railing against immigrants, or extremists brandishing Nazi symbols and Hamas slogans – the Jewish community was once again in the crosshairs. For all their differences, these groups find common ground in their hostility toward Jews. That convergence should alarm every Australian who values social cohesion and democratic life.

Extremism has become mainstreamed; society is unraveling

This is not a fringe issue anymore. It is the mainstreaming of extremism in Australian streets. When the far Left and the far Right, sworn enemies in theory, find themselves mirrored in tactics and rhetoric, it is a warning sign for the entire nation. When Nazis march openly, when pro-Hamas supporters can stand alongside those peddling xenophobia, and when ordinary people are swept into the noise without understanding, we are watching the fraying of the social fabric in real time.

And once again: there was nothing but silence from the government.

There was silence when Jews were targeted in October 2023; silence now when Australians are being told they do not belong in their own country; silence in the face of neo-Nazis; silence in the face of those glorifying terrorism; and silence in the face of people who wish to replace our shared values with imported hatreds.

This is how social cohesion unravels. It begins with the picking of sides. At first, it was the Jewish community that was isolated, targeted, and abandoned. Then it spread: pro-Israel or anti-Israel, pro-immigration or anti-immigration. Now the lines have multiplied, and Australians are being pushed into tribes, with extremists dictating the terms of debate.

The danger is not only the hate of the fringe. It is the vacuum created by political cowardice. Citizens lose faith in institutions when governments are selective in what they condemn. The Opera House was the test; August 31’s marches are the consequence. By refusing to act decisively against antisemitism in October, our leaders signaled that bigotry could be excused, that standards could be bent depending on who the target was. Now others have seized on that same weakness.

Silence, we must understand, is never neutral. It tilts the field toward the loudest and most extreme voices. When hate speech was allowed to dominate the Opera House steps, a dangerous norm was set. Public intimidation and incitement would go unchallenged. August 31’s rallies show that lesson has been learned well. Not just by those who hate Jews, but by those who seek to scapegoat immigrants or anyone who looks or thinks differently.

We are at a crossroads and the stakes are high

We are now at a crossroads. Australia can continue down this path, where grievance and division define our national life, or we can reclaim unity before it is too late. That means leaders who are willing to protect principles, not just manage optics. It means moral clarity, spoken consistently, whether the hate comes from the far Left, the far Right, or religious extremists.

The Jewish community knows the stakes better than most. History teaches us that once hate is unleashed, it never stops with one group. If October 7, 2023, and the weekly rallies and marches that followed teach us anything, it is that social cohesion cannot be taken for granted. It must be defended, loudly and without compromise.

The Opera House to the marches: these are not isolated incidents. They are chapters in the same story. A story that asks whether Australia will stand up for its values or allow them to be eroded by silence.

The choice is still ours. But the time to make it is running out.

The writer is executive director of StandWithUs Australia, an international nonpartisan education organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism.

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