WEBVTT - What Iran gains by attacking Australia

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<v Speaker 1>From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.

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<v Speaker 1>It's Wednesday, August twenty seven, twenty twenty five. The CEO

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<v Speaker 1>of commercial property giant JLLL is abruptly leaving the company

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<v Speaker 1>after revelations in The Australian about a culture of harassment.

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<v Speaker 1>Jonni Bashan, editor of our business column Margin Call, has

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<v Speaker 1>the scoop and you can hear Yonni talking about jll

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<v Speaker 1>by scrolling back in your feed for our full episode.

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<v Speaker 1>Yonnie story is live right now at the Australian dot

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<v Speaker 1>com dot au. For the first time since World War II,

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<v Speaker 1>Australia is expelling an ambassador. Iran's representative is on his

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<v Speaker 1>way back to Tehran. That's as Australia says the Islamic

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<v Speaker 1>Revolutionary Guard orchestrated the firebombing of a Bondidelli and a

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<v Speaker 1>Melbourne synagogue. Today. Foreign editor Greg Sheridan on how Australia

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<v Speaker 1>likely cooperated with Israel's spy agency Mossad on this investigation

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<v Speaker 1>and why Iran's all powerful ruling elite will target Jews.

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<v Speaker 1>On the other side of the.

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<v Speaker 2>World, Palestinian militants from the Armed Group of Mass launched

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<v Speaker 2>a surprised coordinated attack on Israel by land, sea and air.

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<v Speaker 3>Flares were thrown, anti Semitic slurs chanted and an Israeli

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<v Speaker 3>flag set on fire during that illegal pro Palestinian rally

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<v Speaker 3>last night at the Opera House. Four o'clock this morning

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<v Speaker 3>when Lewis's Continental kitchen caught fire.

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<v Speaker 4>This is on KERL.

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<v Speaker 1>Lewis Street here in Bondai. Melbourne's Jewish community is in

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<v Speaker 1>shock after a fire bomb attack on one of Australia's

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<v Speaker 1>busiest synagogue.

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<v Speaker 5>Wishop has reigned for their lives as a sanctuary built

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<v Speaker 5>by Holocaust survivors sixty years ago, was destroyed.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been a dramatic two years and now the government

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<v Speaker 1>says the twenty twenty four firebombings of a Sydney Jewish

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<v Speaker 1>deli and a Melbourne synagogue were the work of the

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<v Speaker 1>Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Iran's all powerful military rulers. Now

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<v Speaker 1>the Australian Government will outlaw the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

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<v Speaker 3>They have sought to harm and terrified Jewish Australians and

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<v Speaker 3>to so hatred and division in our community. The actions

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<v Speaker 3>of my government send a clear message, a message to

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<v Speaker 3>all Australians that we stand against Danish Semitism and we

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<v Speaker 3>stand against violence.

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<v Speaker 1>Spyboss Mike Burgess.

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<v Speaker 5>Iran's actions are utterly unacceptable. They put lives at risk,

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<v Speaker 5>They terrified the community, and they tour at our social fabric.

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<v Speaker 5>Iram and its proxies literally and figuratively lit the matches

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<v Speaker 5>and fanned the flames.

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<v Speaker 1>Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

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<v Speaker 4>We have suspended the operations of our embassy in Iran

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<v Speaker 4>for the same safety of our officials and Australians Border Security.

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<v Speaker 4>Australia's officials are, as the Prime Minister said, now in

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<v Speaker 4>a third country.

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<v Speaker 1>So how did they allegedly do it well. Police have

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<v Speaker 1>charged two Victorian men with arson, carfift and conduct day

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<v Speaker 1>during life over the Adas Israel Synagogue attack. Police believe

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<v Speaker 1>another conspirator is still at large. In relation to the

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<v Speaker 1>Sydney Delhi attack, New South Wales police have charged two

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<v Speaker 1>men with firebombing and another with directing the attack. That's

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<v Speaker 1>Sayed Masawi, a former senior BIKEI with the Nomads, who

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<v Speaker 1>police say use the code name James Bond and told

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<v Speaker 1>the others he was to be paid at twelve thousand

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<v Speaker 1>dollars for organizing the attack. He's pleaded not guilty.

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<v Speaker 5>There is a layer cake of cutouts between IRGC and

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<v Speaker 5>the person or the alleged perpetrators conducting crimes. In between them,

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<v Speaker 5>they tap into a number of people agents of IRGC,

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<v Speaker 5>people that they know in the criminal world, and work

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<v Speaker 5>through there. There is an organized crime element offshore in this,

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<v Speaker 5>but that's not suggest organized crime are doing it. They're

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<v Speaker 5>just using cutouts, including people who are criminal and members

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<v Speaker 5>of organized crime gangs, to do their bidding or direct

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<v Speaker 5>their bidding.

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<v Speaker 1>Asio believes the Revolutionary Guard may have orchestrated more attacks.

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<v Speaker 1>Greg Sheridan is the Australian's foreign editor Greek. How significant

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<v Speaker 1>is it for Australia to expel an ambassador.

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<v Speaker 6>It's hugely significant. Clear this marks a significant point in

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<v Speaker 6>our diplomatic history. Not since World War Two have we

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<v Speaker 6>expelled an ambassador. A very serious move to take, and

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<v Speaker 6>I'm full of praise for the Albanesi government. I think

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<v Speaker 6>they should have booted this ambassador out earlier for the

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<v Speaker 6>things he himself was saying about Jews and Israel. But

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<v Speaker 6>this shocking Iranian perpetration of terrorism on our soils deserves

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<v Speaker 6>a reaction as strong as this.

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<v Speaker 1>The government's being very careful to say that they believe

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<v Speaker 1>it's the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and not the Iranian

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<v Speaker 1>government's representatives in Australia, the diplomats working at the embassy

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<v Speaker 1>who are responsible for these but Greek practically, what's the difference.

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<v Speaker 6>Well, in a sense, there's no difference, because Iran is

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<v Speaker 6>a little bit like the People's Republic of China. Everybody

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<v Speaker 6>works for the central government, but the Islamic Revolutionary Guard

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<v Speaker 6>Corps is the most powerful institution within Iran and it

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<v Speaker 6>runs Iran's international terrorism. A lot of terror analysts have

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<v Speaker 6>held for some time that Iran is now the biggest

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<v Speaker 6>state sponsor of international terrorism. It harasses and sometimes murders

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<v Speaker 6>Iranian dissidents or members of its diaspora community who are

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<v Speaker 6>opposed to the Iranian regime. Well, that's a shocking thing.

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<v Speaker 6>That is state sanctioned murder, that is state sanctioned terrorism.

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<v Speaker 6>Knowledge is often very compartmentalized. So similarly with the Russians,

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<v Speaker 6>it wouldn't be the case that the Russian ambassador would

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<v Speaker 6>necessarily about every operation that was being carried out by

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<v Speaker 6>Russian intelligence on foreign soil. Similarly, with the Chinese, the

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<v Speaker 6>ambassador would have a good general sense of what the

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<v Speaker 6>nation is doing. But these clandestine operations are very much

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<v Speaker 6>on a need to know basis similarly in our system,

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<v Speaker 6>not that we are remotely morally or functionally or equivalent

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<v Speaker 6>in any way to the Iranians. But if ASIS was

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<v Speaker 6>conducting an operation in some other country, it wouldn't necessarily

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<v Speaker 6>be the case that our ambassador knew all the operational details.

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<v Speaker 6>It's not surprising that the ambassador himself may not have

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<v Speaker 6>had knowledge. And if Mike Burgess, that's the director of Asia,

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<v Speaker 6>tells us it wasn't the embassy involved, well that's okay,

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<v Speaker 6>no reason to doubt Burgerses were there.

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<v Speaker 1>Now from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard course perspective, they've got

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of fish to fry. They've got a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of enemies around the world, mainly in the Middle East.

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<v Speaker 1>How significant an operation is this, Why would they be

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<v Speaker 1>bothering blowing up a Delhi in Bondai and a synagogue

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<v Speaker 1>in Melbourne.

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<v Speaker 6>So they are a very big organization. They've got a

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<v Speaker 6>kind of a worldwide mission where accustomed to Iran harassing

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<v Speaker 6>and an extreme cases assassinating dissidents in the diaspora community.

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<v Speaker 6>Iran also has a record of anti Jewish terrorism. There

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<v Speaker 6>have been cases where Jewish sites there was a famous

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<v Speaker 6>one in Buenos Aires have been blown up and ultimately

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<v Speaker 6>the fingerprints go back to the Iranian government. The thing

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<v Speaker 6>that is very difficult for Australians to understand is that

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<v Speaker 6>there is a very deep tradition of Islamic anti Semitism.

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<v Speaker 6>As I'm ashamed to say, there is quite a strong

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<v Speaker 6>tradition of Christian anti Semitism, and the Iranian regime is

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<v Speaker 6>very ideological. It is an extreme Islamist regime. Most Muslims

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<v Speaker 6>don't follow these ideas, but the Iranian regime has a

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<v Speaker 6>she version really of the Muslim brotherhood ideology and Jews

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<v Speaker 6>and the West and Israel are among the villains in

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<v Speaker 6>that cosmology. So there is a hatred of Jews which

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<v Speaker 6>motivates this. But also, according to Mike Burgess, there's also

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<v Speaker 6>a desire to disrupt social cohesion in Australia. Australia is

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<v Speaker 6>seen as part of the West, as an ally of

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<v Speaker 6>the United States, which is the great Satan. You know,

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<v Speaker 6>even today in Iran there a chance of death to America,

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<v Speaker 6>and America is the great Satan in israelis the little

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<v Speaker 6>Satan and so on, and where the Great Satan's helper.

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<v Speaker 6>So they're quite happy to try to cause social division

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<v Speaker 6>in Australia, and the tragic events in Gaza and the

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<v Speaker 6>conflict there makes this a propitious time for them to

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<v Speaker 6>stir up anti Semitic sentiment. They are much more concerned

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<v Speaker 6>with nations of the Middle East and then with cities

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<v Speaker 6>like London and Paris, very very concerned with the United States.

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<v Speaker 6>But the fact that they would go to the trouble

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<v Speaker 6>of doing this in Australia shows their sort of global

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<v Speaker 6>reach and their global ambition.

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<v Speaker 1>Not mentioned during the press conference on Tuesday was Israel,

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<v Speaker 1>but Mike Burgess did say that ASIO had cooperated with

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<v Speaker 1>its partners overseas. Presumably the one that knows the most

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<v Speaker 1>about the Revolutionary Guards is Mossad.

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<v Speaker 6>Well, that's absolutely right. Clear. So part of the tragedy

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<v Speaker 6>of everything that's happening at the moment is the decline

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<v Speaker 6>of the Australia Israel relationship. Australia and Israel go back

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<v Speaker 6>a long way. It was Australian troops who liberated Bearsheba

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<v Speaker 6>from the Ottoman Turks and that really led the way

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<v Speaker 6>to the expansion of the Zionist movement in Israel. The

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<v Speaker 6>word kobber comes from the Hebrew word keva, which Australian

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<v Speaker 6>diggers picked up while they are in the Middle East.

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<v Speaker 6>This is a very long standing relationship, with a very

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<v Speaker 6>intimate relationship. Now there is no country on Earth which

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<v Speaker 6>knows more about every aspect of Iran than Israel. The

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<v Speaker 6>smartest Israelis there are spend their lives studying Iran. We

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<v Speaker 6>have a very deep and intimate intelligence exchange with Israel,

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<v Speaker 6>which I hope and trust has not been disturbed by

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<v Speaker 6>the recent coldness between the two governments. Now we also

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<v Speaker 6>pass information to Israel. It's not a one way street. However,

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<v Speaker 6>it is the case that they know more about threats

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<v Speaker 6>to us than we know about threats to them. Australians

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<v Speaker 6>are alive today because Israel has given the Australian government

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<v Speaker 6>information on terrorist networks in our region. And I don't

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<v Speaker 6>know who Burgess was referring to when he talked about

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<v Speaker 6>cooperation with the sympathetic foreign agencies, but you would have

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<v Speaker 6>to think, as you say, Claire, the agency of the

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<v Speaker 6>whole world which knows most about Iran is the Israeli

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<v Speaker 6>government and Mossad and Shinbet and the other analytical agencies within.

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<v Speaker 1>Israel coming up. How should Jewish Australians interpret all this?

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<v Speaker 1>The Jewish community has been on a hell of an

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<v Speaker 1>emotional rollercoaster since October twenty twenty three, haven't they? Greg?

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<v Speaker 1>You know, first on October nine, we saw the protests

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<v Speaker 1>outside the Opera House with Chance that they found deeply disturbing.

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<v Speaker 1>Then a series of attacks, including these two the Lewis's

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<v Speaker 1>Continental Kitchen and the Adas Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. But

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<v Speaker 1>then the Federal Police came out and indicated that well,

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<v Speaker 1>there's really nothing to see here. This is a criminal conjob.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a hoax being pulled by a crook who wants

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<v Speaker 1>to negotiate a change in his criminal status. That left

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of Jewish people feeling as though their concerns

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<v Speaker 1>about those attacks were being minimized. How should Jewish Australians

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<v Speaker 1>do you think, Greg interpret what author already are saying now,

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<v Speaker 1>which is that at least some of these attacks, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>more were coming from Iran, and as you say, we

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<v Speaker 1>have an undoubtedly anti Semitic intention.

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<v Speaker 6>Yes, Claire, I think Jewish people in Australia would be

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<v Speaker 6>reassured by the federal government's actions. Even when the Federal

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<v Speaker 6>Police were telling us that some of these attacks were

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<v Speaker 6>directed by a foreign based Australian criminal seeking to negotiate

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<v Speaker 6>a better outcome on a sentence, it seemed just wildly

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<v Speaker 6>implausible on its face that that was the deep explanation

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<v Speaker 6>that might have been the surface of things. But if

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<v Speaker 6>he was overseas, why was he trying to negotiate a

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<v Speaker 6>better outcome on a sentence in Australia. I mean, it

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<v Speaker 6>just don't come home to Australia if you're going to

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<v Speaker 6>go to jail. And how did he think that that

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<v Speaker 6>series of actions was going to help him? But also

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<v Speaker 6>even if all that was true, it was almost certain

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<v Speaker 6>that he was acting also from anti Semitic motives. I mean,

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<v Speaker 6>the fact that the anti Semitism comes from a criminal

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<v Speaker 6>doesn't mean that it's not anti Semitism. And Australian authorities

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<v Speaker 6>at one level understandably, but I think mistakenly are always

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<v Speaker 6>inclined to downplay this because they're trying to reassure communities.

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<v Speaker 6>They don't want to exaggerate a problem and they want

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<v Speaker 6>people to stay calm. But you've always got to deal

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<v Speaker 6>with reality.

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<v Speaker 3>Now.

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<v Speaker 6>I have been very critical of the Albanese government for

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<v Speaker 6>not understanding even before October seven that there was a

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<v Speaker 6>burgeoning crisis of antisemitism around the world. There is a

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<v Speaker 6>right wing anti semitism, you see it in some of

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<v Speaker 6>these insane quasi neo Nazi movements in the United States,

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<v Speaker 6>and there is a left wing antisemitism which regards Israel

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<v Speaker 6>as simply the source of all evil. Now, sadly, all

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<v Speaker 6>those toxic, terrible streams of hatred of Jews, the oldest

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<v Speaker 6>and most terrible hatred we know in our civilization, come

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<v Speaker 6>together into a giant river of anti Semitism. Now, at

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<v Speaker 6>no point at all ever has the federal government looked

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<v Speaker 6>like it understood that. The New South Wales Premier Chris

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<v Speaker 6>Mens seems to have got the idea pretty quickly. But

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<v Speaker 6>now I would say the federal government responded with proportionate, serious,

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<v Speaker 6>real intent to one element of this crisis. So Iran

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<v Speaker 6>is not just a difficult nation which causes trouble. It

0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:29.280
<v Speaker 6>is a nation motivated by an ideology which is anti

0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:34.600
<v Speaker 6>Semitic in its core, and therefore a government like Australia

0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:38.359
<v Speaker 6>which wants to safeguard its Jewish community and safeguard Australian

0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:41.280
<v Speaker 6>cohesion and all the rest of it has to confront

0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.320
<v Speaker 6>the government of Iran. There's some value in having an

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<v Speaker 6>Australian embassy in Iran, but not if you give away

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<v Speaker 6>your basic internal decency, and we were seeming to do

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<v Speaker 6>that in allowing the ambassador endless scope to just say

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<v Speaker 6>and do the most vile things. We should have said, well,

0:14:57.880 --> 0:14:59.400
<v Speaker 6>you can hold those views if you like, but you

0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:02.640
<v Speaker 6>can't live in a Australia and hold them. So, you know,

0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:06.480
<v Speaker 6>a bit late, but they've got there, and they're also

0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:09.640
<v Speaker 6>right to expose this all publicly, to tell us all

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<v Speaker 6>about it, and therefore that makes you ran pay a

0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:16.480
<v Speaker 6>certain reputational price. People around the world will see what

0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:20.640
<v Speaker 6>Iran has been doing in Australia, so you know, I

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<v Speaker 6>think on the whole they haven't been a very good

0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:24.640
<v Speaker 6>government dealing with anti Semitism, but this is a very

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<v Speaker 6>good day.

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<v Speaker 1>Greg Sheridan is The Australian's Foreign editor. The Australian's been

0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:43.880
<v Speaker 1>doing groundbreaking reporting about the Iranian diaspora and how they've

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<v Speaker 1>been targeted to You can read all about that and

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<v Speaker 1>all our analysis right now at the Australian dot com

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<v Speaker 1>dot au