<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former opposition leader Bill Shorten has criticised a "pile-on" against Australian Jews and says war in the Middle East has exposed latent antisemitic hatred which has left Jewish Australians feeling unsafe in their own country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He says the hatred was stoked by "some protesters" and what has emerged since the Hamas raids on Israel and the subsequent attacks on Gaza shows one of the oldest hatreds in the world underlying Australian society.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a broad interview on my podcast, </span><em><span>Neil Mitchell Asks Why</span></em><span>, Shorten also said Australia faced new challenges and needed to "step up a gear", and that there was little room for debating big ideas in modern political life – a failing of both media and politicians.</span></div></div><div><iframe frameborder="0" height="150px" src="https://omny.fm/shows/neil-mitchell-asks-why/bill-shorten-on-politics-education-where-australias-heading-next/embed?style=cover" width="100%"></iframe></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said he had previously thought "latent antisemitism" had gone in Australia but Jewish Australians were not imagining it and urged non-Jews to call out the hatred.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His comments followed criticisms of some universities for being overly tolerant of antisemitic attacks and slow to criticise them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shorten, now vice chancellor of the University of Canberra, was asked on my podcast whether some tertiary institutions had been antisemitic in their reaction to the war.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"99.9 per cent of people at universities, I do not believe, are antisemitic," he said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/bill-shorten-says-middle-east-war-has-exposed-latent-antisemitic-hatred-in-australia/429dcd79-e3cd-448d-82ad-d47c568e1307" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But I do believe some protesters and some people created an unsafe environment for Australians of Jewish heritage and that's unacceptable.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So yes, I do think there are some antisemites."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/entertainment-reporter-peter-ford-to-flee-victoria-over-crime/97134fa6-8ace-43b5-94a5-cc0b7a8f5f2b" rel="" target="" title="TV and radio commentator to flee Victoria because of crime problem"><strong><span>TV and radio commentator to flee Victoria because of crime problem</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> Shorten said he believed the community and institutions had underestimated the latent antisemitism and been surprised as it surfaced.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We've all been surprised, I certainly have, about how the debate after October 7 and the murder and massacres then sort of flipped to becoming a pile-on, not just about what you think about Israel, but now what you think about the Jewish people.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This trope that somehow there's a Jewish conspiracy manipulating a government - that is actually an antisemitic trope which is older than the Nazis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> "It's been around thousands of years. It's one of the oldest hates in the world and it's just got a new form."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said he knew Jewish people who had plans to leave Australia, although they were Australian-born and it was their home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's legitimate to criticise a government of another country, including the government of Israel.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But the directions in which a lot of these protests have gone has been about bringing overseas arguments to Australian and making Australians of Jewish heritage feel unsafe in their own country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That's real. And it's shocking and it's unacceptable.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's up to the rest of us to call it out … it shouldn't just be left to Jewish Australians to defend themselves."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/derryn-hinch-on-life-death-and-why-he-hates-the-human-headline-nickname/800f089a-b140-4e3c-a9fb-af417a42b55e" rel="" target="" title="Derryn Hinch's revelation about his health"><strong><span>Derryn Hinch's revelation about his health</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shorten said he and others had stood up for Muslim Australians after the Christchurch massacre.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There were a lot of Australians of Muslim heritage feeling frightened then and it was fair enough and it was terrible.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But now it's the turn of the Jewish Australians to feel frightened and their fears and desire for safety shouldn't be disrespected because of conflicts elsewhere.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"No one should feel unsafe in this country because of their religion and when Jewish kids can't wear their school uniforms after school then we've got to call it out.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And it's not just on Jewish Australians to do it. Everyone else has got to stand up for them."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shorten, who came within a whisker of being prime minister in 2019, said he was deeply hurt by the loss but has moved on well.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the interview, he talks about universities playing a strong role in Australia's future, making entry easier for older students, and warns Australia needs to "step up a gear".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The world's changed. Our holiday from history is over.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Since the end of the Cold War, Australia has had 30 years of, not too bad.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We've relied on our distance from the rest of the world to keep us safe.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think our holiday from history is over. This country's got to get a lot smarter quicker, a lot more agile, a lot more resilient.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> "Defence expenditure will have to increase. Universities need to intellectually rearm and change some of the things we do here.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think this country needs to, like it or not, move up a gear."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shorten, a lifelong Victorian now living in Canberra, said he was worried about the state.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think Victoria's a great state. I've lived in Melbourne my whole life and I think it's a great city.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But I think morale's down and we've got to try to lift it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shorten also suggested the political process was staggering, which was a failing of both the media and politicians.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said there was not a mood for discussing big ideas, and agreed perhaps his own policies and vision had cost him power.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So after a lifetime in politics, and within a sniff of being PM, what matters today to Australians?</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Cost of living, cost of living, probably in families," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The other thing would be the wellbeing of their kids."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Neil Mitchell Asks Why</span></strong><span> </span><em><strong><span>is a Nine podcast posted every Tuesday at 6am.</span></strong></em></div></div>