Each day that passes since the unimaginable terror of the events in Bondi seems to bring with it fresh announcements from various levels of government. The understandable rage felt within the Jewish community that they have been let down by police, the intelligence agencies and even the prime minister himself, combined with the inevitable reality that opposition parties would smell political advantage.

Albanese, who had floundered at first, clearly sensed that the political winds had begun to shift against him. Thoughts, prayers and wishy-washy statements about Australian values would no longer cut it (if they ever had). So, after a pause, we now have a raft of new federal measures designed to crack down on antisemitism, incorporating everything from gun reform to new vilification and hate speech offences.

A man mourns during a menorah lighting ceremony earlier this month at the floral memorial for victims of of the Bondi Beach attack.Credit: AP

These can be added to those already tabled in the NSW parliament by the swifter-acting Premier Chris Minns, not to be outdone by a five-point plan announced on Monday by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. In the mix too is the 20-page report by Antisemitism Envoy Jillian Segal, which contains 13 recommendations and 49 key actions.

There is a fear that governments are scrambling to propose solutions without properly evaluating the problem. If this is the case, there is a real risk of knee-jerk overreach, particularly when it comes to curtailing important civil liberties, including freedom of speech and assembly.

As the situation stands, there appears to be no singular, monolithic antisemitism festering in Australia but rather multiple different mutations of this ancient virus.

The two most outwardly and unashamedly antisemitic groups are the Islamist extremists and the far-right neo-Nazis. They are similar in that they exist........

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