Liberal MP protests decision saying, “disenfranchises many Jewish Australians.”
Jewish leader responds: “not a problem…”
Australia’s upcoming national elections will be held on September 14 -which is the date on which Yom Kippur falls this year, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced on Monday, arousing heated debate among politicians and Jewish community leaders.
After her announcement at the National Press Club in the capital Canberra, MPs from both Labor and the Liberal party were quick to attack the decision, both due to the long campaigning season that it has inaugurated and because some believe it to be insensitive to Australia’s Jewish community.












Jeremy Jones, a former president of the Executive Council of Australia Jewry, released data this week showing that during the 12-month period from October 2011 until September 2012, there were 543 incidents of “racist violence” against Jewish Australians documented by Jewish organizations.