‘Extreme Green Left’ Fueling Anti-Semitic Sentiment in Schools: Liberal MP

Protesters gather at Flinders Street Station on November 23, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. Organised by School Students For Palestine, the call for action on the group's social media feeds prompted a statement from federal Education Minister Jason Clare that children should be in class during school hours. The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict continues to cause social tensions in societies around the world, including in Australian cities. Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

An Australian Liberal MP has criticised the “extreme Green left” for leading and encouraging anti-Semitism in schools, saying that Jewish students are feeling increasingly under attack on campuses.

Julian Lesser also called for an inquiry into anti-Semitism on university campuses as he described the large number of students walking out of classes to support Palestine as “a sickness in our education system.”

The comment comes after hundreds of school students rallied in Melbourne and Sydney to called for a ceasefire in Gaza and demanded Australian political leaders to stop providing military aid to Israel.

Mr. Lesser, who holds the seat of Berowra, Sydney, said that students who were calling for Israel to be wiped off the map “needed to spend more time in the classroom.”

“[They need to] start learning about our history and learning about some facts about the Middle East, some facts about democracy, some facts about freedom and the rule of law and some facts about Australia, that we as a liberal Western democracy need to stand up with other liberal Western democracies,” he told 2GB Radio on Monday.

“We need to stand for people who have been attacked by terrorists. We need to oppose those people committing terrorist acts around the world.”

Australian MP Julian Leeser speaks to media during a press conference in Sydney, Australia, on April 11, 2023. AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

Mr. Leeser said going to protests wasn’t a legitimate reason for students’ truancy while accusing the extreme green left for encouraging such behaviours.

“There’s a sickness in our education system that is seeing so many students come out and enjoying these protests, calling for Israel to be wiped off the map and saying that Hamas is doing a good job, egged on by Green senators, and it’s for this reason that I’ve called for an independent inquiry of anti-Semitism.”

Pro-Palestine Protests

On Nov. 23 and Nov. 24, large crowds of students gathered in Town Hall in Sydney and Flinders Street in Melbourne in support of Palestine, chanting “free, free Palestine” and holding signs such as “get in, we’re freeing Gaza.”

This is despite previous warnings from political leaders from the centre-right Coalition and the centre-left Labor, including New South Wales education minister Prue Carr, who argued, “one of the most important ways you can change the world is get an education.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also described the protests as a political statement and “an indulgence.”

But Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi said she was “honoured” to be among the students protesting and praised the education system for having taught the students “the difference between right and wrong.”

Protesters march holding a School Strike for Palestine banner in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 23, 2023. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Australia has abstained from the U.N. ceasefire vote because it considered the motion, which neither mentioned Hamas nor described the group’s terrorist acts, as “incomplete.”

“The resolution did not recognise terror group Hamas as the perpetrator of the Oct. 7 attack. And Australia again explicitly calls for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages,” explained Australian representative to the U.N., James Larsen.

Anti-Semitism Level ‘Off The Charts’

The school strikes took place as Jewish community members reported feeling increasingly unsafe with the increasing anti-Semitic sentiment in the country.

Mr. Lesser described the current level of anti-Semitism in Australia as “unprecedented” and “off the charts.”

“There are many students that want to complain about anti-Semitic conduct but feel that their conduct would not be properly dealt with by education administrators in this country,” he said.

A new survey carried out in over 33 Australian universities revealed that 57 percent of Jewish students reported hiding their Jewish identity at school, while 64 percent of students reported having experienced at least one anti-Semitic experience at their universities.

The survey, commissioned by the Zionist Federation of Australia, showed an overwhelming majority (85 percent) of anti-Semitic incidents go under the radar as students did not believe the institutions would address the incidents seriously.