RELIGIOUS extremism and the threat of terror cannot be met by cowardly appeasement.
The decision by a local council in Sydney, backed by the Land and Environment Court, to block the construction of a synagogue in Bondi because it might become a terrorist target is repugnant and at odds with Australian values.
There’s something perverse about trying to reduce the risk of Islamist terror by making a decision that accommodates the most violent, intolerant members of the community.
Victim blaming has reached new lows when government authorities cave in to extremists and punish victims for being the targets of hate.
It’s akin to the twisted thinking that forces women to cover their bodies to reduce the incidence of sexual assault.
The rights of a peaceful religious minority should not be impinged upon in a free society. The Jewish community has every right to label this decision as “rewarding terrorism”.
Read the full article by Rita Panahi at The Herald Sun (subscriber only).