Focus Wentworth: Spender’s testing time

When Allegra Spender decided to contest the seat of Wentworth three years ago, she walked into a fierce attack from the incumbent Liberal member Dave Sharma over her allegiance to Israel, and by extension, the Sydney Jewish community.

Wentworth has the largest Jewish population of any electorate in the country. The seat, which includes Bondi, Woollahra and Vaucluse, has 16% Jewish voters.

At that first election in 2022, Spender weathered the storm, gained solid support from Jewish voters and rode to victory on a platform of climate action, and disenchantment with Scott Morrison and his government’s infatuation with fossil fuels. As an independent, she was seen as a breath of fresh air, someone who could speak her mind.

Half-way into her term, Spender created a prominent profile for herself among the “Teals” who made such inroads into Liberal seats. Then came October 7. Everything she had done in her first 18 months looked like child’s play compared to what she has faced since.  

Since the Hamas attacks of 2023, Spender has been caught between an even more ferocious political battle over who is “the best friend of Israel and the Jewish community”. 

On one side is the Opposition, whose leader Peter Dutton has attacked the government relentlessly over its response to antisemitism since the start of the Gaza war. Jewish communal leaders, outraged at the rise in anti-Jewish attacks, who have swung solidly behind Dutton.

On the other side is the Albanese government, accused by Dutton and Jewish leaders of being weak on antisemitism and betraying Israel as it appeases Muslim outrage over Gaza. Over in the corner are the Greens, having gone all in with the pro-Palestinians early on, and widely seen as beyond the pale.