Labor MPs face juggling act over Israel-Hamas war
Australia's immigration minister tells Capital Brief that maintaining community harmony in the wake of Hamas' attack on Israel is his number one priority.
For days, many Labor MPs said as little as possible about the unfolding situation in Israel and Gaza, in which 1400 Israelis were murdered in a terrorist attack by Hamas and some 3000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip in the days that followed.
It's a sensitive issue not only for personal reasons but because they represent large percentages of Muslim Australians in their electorates.
As ASIO boss Mike Burgess warns that the situation in Israel risks inspiring a new wave of extremism and spontaneous violence, MPs are trying to juggle the need to call out an egregious act, maintain community harmony and express their own personal views on the conflict.
To some in the Jewish community, many statements from MPs have come across as false equivalency and lacking in moral clarity. To many in the Muslim and Palestinian communities, the government is not placing enough emphasis on their suffering.
