ALP president Wayne Swan removes retweet about Bondi vigil after criticism from Jewish groups
One last story before we close the blog for today. We brought you the news earlier that two peak Jewish groups called for Wayne Swan to resign as president of the Australian Labor party after he shared a post on X that criticised the people at a Bondi vigil who booed the prime minister.
After Anthony Albanese was booed by some members of the crowd on Sunday at a vigil for the victims of the 14 December terror attack, Swan reposted a post from progressive online commentator Everald Compton that same day that said:
Jewish people boo @AlboMP on arrival at #Bondi vigil but they support #Netanyahu who allowed 1200 Israelis to be slaughtered by Hamas then murdered 70000 innocent people in Gaza.
It is beyond belief that such hypocrisy can become respectable.
Swan responded earlier today by saying he understood the community’s “deep trauma” and that he would continue to engage with Jewish community leaders.
He has now added an apology and said he has removed the X post, saying:
I’ve reflected on the retweet and have taken it down and I apologise for any offence caused.
Updated
What we learned: Tuesday 23 December
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. I hope you have a nice evening, wherever you are. Here were today’s top stories:
Const Scott Dyson, one of the New South Wales police officers hospitalised after the Bondi terror attack was woken up for the first time since he was placed into a medically induced coma, his family said. Meanwhile, the other officer hospitalised, probationary constable Jack Hibbert, was discharged, according to his family.
Sydney’s Emanuel Synagogue emailed members after court documents revealed the alleged Bondi terrorists, Naveed and Sajid Akram, stopped in its vicinity in the lead-up to the attack in Bondi. According to the police fact sheet, released Monday by the courts, the pair’s silver Hyundai allegedly arrived at Ocean Street in Woollahra about 5.58pm on Sunday, 14 December.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he was ‘confident’ his new anti-protest laws would withstand a constitutional challenge after the Greens and a range of activists flagged plans to oppose them. Three activist groups – the Palestine Action Group, Jews Against the Occupation and Blak Caucus – said they would challenge the laws in court as soon as January. The laws, part of an omnibus bill that would also change gun rules, were expected to pass the upper house on Tuesday evening.
Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen defended his colleagues, the day after Sussan Ley’s quite vocal attack, particularly on the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, whom the federal opposition leader claimed “had not shed a single tear” for the victims of the Bondi massacre.
Two peak Jewish groups called for Wayne Swan to resign as president of the Australian Labor party after he shared a post on X that criticised the people at a Bondi vigil who booed the prime minister. Swan responded by saying he understood the community’s “deep trauma” and that he would continue to engage with Jewish community leaders.
And the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced travel entitlements for the families of parliamentarians will be wound back, after the government sought advice from the expenses watchdog following a string of controversies involving Labor ministers.
Updated
