This long-read audio essay examines the vilification of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the Bondi Beach memorial, and how national mourning was turned into a partisan spectacle. It explores how antisemitism, public safety and the Israel–Palestine debate have been politicised by the Israel lobby, conservative media and the right, trapping the Labor government in an impossible bind. Challenging the “done nothing” claim, the episode outlines the extensive security, legal and education measures delivered since October 2023, and argues that Albanese’s weakness was not indifference, but caution – appeasement in a moral crisis driven by outrage and absolutism. #AUSPOL  

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