Antisemitism: Bill Shorten says 'it shouldn't just be left to Jewish Australians to defend themselves'

Former opposition leader Bill Shorten has criticised a "pile-on" against Australian Jews and says war in the Middle East has exposed latent antisemitic hatred which has left Jewish Australians feeling unsafe in their own country.

He says the hatred was stoked by "some protesters" and what has emerged since the Hamas raids on Israel and the subsequent attacks on Gaza shows one of the oldest hatreds in the world underlying Australian society.

In a broad interview on my podcast, Neil Mitchell Asks Why , Shorten also said Australia faced new challenges and needed to "step up a gear", and that there was little room for debating big ideas in modern political life – a failing of both media and politicians.

He said he had previously thought "latent antisemitism" had gone in Australia but