Australia’s Jewish leaders say that social cohesion is used by hostile forces unless it is a government-level address.
Australia’s Jewish leaders have warned of the disastrous consequences of not addressing the issue of social cohesion in the country.
The communication appeared to have been sent from Macau.
In Melbourne, letters received by some households provided about $200,000 (US$125,000) for information about democratic lawyer Kevin Yam.
However, when it came to target fellow lawyer Ted Huy, the Flyer author used stealth techniques, which were only devised by knowledge of current social issues in Australia.
A flyer sent to a South Australian mosque falsely claimed that Hui was legally supported in favor of Jews and Israelis.
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Since October 7, 2023, social tensions have been rising in Australia. The terrorist attacks in Israel followed by the Israeli Hama War.
Hui said he has never expressed public opinion about the Middle East conflict.
In itself, social cohesion, or lack of it, became a major topic of conversation to federal elections in reports of rising anti-Semitism.
Robert Gregory, CEO of the Australian Jewish Association, is asking the government to act to prevent foreign powers from using it for their own purposes.
“It looks as if a malicious foreign actor is trying to capitalize on the recent decline in Australia’s social cohesion to cause tension,” he told The Epoch Times.
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is a negative force in conflicts in the Middle East and frequently expresses sympathetic views to terrorist groups like Hamas, so it’s not a big surprise if the CCP or someone associated with them were behind these flyers.
“Many people who support democracy in Hong Kong may support a democratic country like Israel, but in this case the targeted individual says he has not expressed a public position on the conflict.”
Gregory said he is concerned that Australia’s anti-Semitism is being weaponized to target Australian citizens like Huy.
“If the Albanese government cannot address the issue of Australia’s social cohesion, we can expect more foreign interference and bad actors to take advantage of the situation,” he said.
Hui previously told the Epoch Times that the incident showed the CCP was looking closely at Australia.
“It was very intimidating to know that there was a debate and extreme view on anti-Semitism, and someone in China thinks it could cause trouble for me,” he said.
Following the incident, Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned the harassment of Australian citizens by foreign forces.
“We hope that our democracies and our citizens will be able to operate freely from such interference, such pressures and threats,” she said.
Yam also thanked Wong and Shadow Home Minister James Patterson for his opposition to the letter.
The Islamic Association of South Australia has been requested for comment.
