The Australian Greens insist they oppose antisemitism. At this point, the ritual denial has become almost as predictable as the next controversy.

The latest episode involves David Shoebridge appearing on a podcast with Daizy Gedeon, an activist who has promoted claims that “Zionists” have embedded themselves in governments and institutions and that Australia has effectively been “hijacked” by Zionists. She spoke with Shoebridge approvingly of “the mask being ripped off” and suggested Australians should reject alleged Zionist influence over public life. Gedeon has also previously blamed Zionism for rises in pedophilia and sex trafficking over the past several hundred years.

This is not criticism of Israeli policy. It is not criticism of military action or governments. It is the resurrection of one of the oldest antisemitic conspiracy theories in existence: that Jews, or “Zionists” as a convenient substitute term, secretly infiltrate governments and manipulate nations from within. These allegations closely resemble conspiracy theories promoted by the Nazis during the 1930s as they normalised antisemitism and laid the foundations for persecution, ghettos, and ultimately the gas chambers.

The Greens and their supporters routinely insist that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism. Their critics argue that incidents such as these suggest otherwise. When I hear that, I cannot help but think of the old refrain: “I’m not an antisemite; I just hate Jews.”

Let us be crystal clear. Anti-Zionism is antisemitism. Since when are Jews told they are not entitled to live freely in their ancestral homeland? Jews are, without doubt, indigenous to the land of Israel. The........

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