Australia’s bold decision to expel Iranian diplomats and break diplomatic relations with Iran over its involvement in antisemitic attacks in Australian cities since 2023 is a jolting reminder that the Islamic Republic of Iran is a rogue regime capable of anything.
Its attempt to create chaos and discord in a Western democratic nation, where Jews and other minorities have lived quietly and in safety, should come as no surprise.
As we all know, Iran is a notorious state sponsor of terrorism and was implicated in the bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994. This outrage, one of the worst attacks on Jews since the Holocaust, killed 85 people and injured more than 300.
Judging by the arson attacks and acts of vandalism that Iran has directed against Australian synagogues, schools, day care centers and homes, it is clear that Iran — Israel’s most deadly enemy — occupies a unique and grotesque place in the international community.
Iran is the only country in the world today that directs attacks on Jews in the Diaspora. Not since the Nazi era in Germany has a nation played such a nefarious role. Still, it is hard to understand why Iran decided to target Jews in a faraway land.
At a news conference in Canberra on August 26, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese exposed Iran as a global exporter of antisemitism. “These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” he said. “They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community.”
Tony Burke, the Australian minister of home affairs, characterized them as direct assaults on Australia, which is home to the largest number of Holocaust survivors outside of Israel. As he put it, “Australia was attacked and Australia was harmed.”
Albanese announced the measures against Iran after Australian security agencies concluded that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which has been designated as a terrorist entity by major Western countries, was behind at least two of the most recent attacks: the firebombing of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, a kosher restaurant in Sydney, and Adass Israel, a synagogue in Melbourne.
According to Sky News, a tip from the Mossad, Israel’s external intelligence agency, helped Australia solve the case.
Mike Burgess, the director of the Australian intelligence agency, believes that organized crimes groups outside the country were also involved in the attacks, which began shortly after Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Since last September, 2,062 antisemitic incidents have been recorded in Australia, compared to 495 a year earlier, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
Although they did not cause any injuries, they have been a source of deep anguish in the Jewish community. On a broader scale, they have sullied Australia’s image. Hence Australia’s retaliatory move to sever relations with Iran and eject its ambassador, the first time since World War II Australia has taken such drastic steps.
For what it is worth, Iran’s ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi, denied any wrongdoing.
Iran’s export of antisemitism to Australia is an extremely serious development, an unmistakable sign that Iran seeks to replicate the Arab-Israeli conflict on Australian soil, Foreign Minister Penny Wong charged. “We all want the killing in the Middle East to stop, and we all want to retain our character as a nation that welcomes people of different races, religions, views, united by respect for each other’s humanity,” she said.
Praising Australia’s announcements as “a strong and important move,” Israel’s embassy in Australia issued a statement saying that Iran is not “only a threat to Jews or Israel,” but “endangers the entire free world, including Australia.”
It remains to be seen whether the latest developments will have a positive impact on Israel’s bilateral relationship with Australia, which has soured since its disclosure earlier this month that it intends to recognize Palestinian statehood.
On the heels of that announcement and Australia’s refusal to issue a travel visa to Simcha Rothman, an Israeli parliamentarian from the ultra-right-wing Religious Zionist Party, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office wrote, “History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”
The Australian government rejected Netanyahu’s “incendiary” criticism and accused some Israeli politicians of promoting “bigoted” views about Palestinians.
Burke, the home affairs minister, went further. “Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,” he said in an allusion to Israel’s current military campaign and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In light of Australia’s retaliatory strike against Iran, one can only hope that Australia and Israel can put aside their current disagreements and focus on the issue at hand: Iran’s subversive and destabilizing role in foreign countries and in the Middle East.