Labor MPs joint speeches provide glimmer of hope amid division

There were three small steps to climb up to the podium where formalities for Labor’s 50^th National Conference were being conducted.

As Jewish MP Josh Burns and Basem Abdo, an MP of Palestinian background, prepared to make their ascent, they paused and shared a gentle embrace.

Burns took the lectern first, and Abdo stood on the side of the stage.

Before speaking, Burns took a deep breath, paused, and let out a sigh. The weight of the moment – and that being carried on their shoulders – was obvious.

Burns began with the night of the Bondi terror attack, when he received a call from his newly elected parliamentary colleague, asking if he could join him at an event to mourn the attack with his community.

The next evening, a large contingent of parliamentarians from both sides of the political aisle gathered at Caulfield Synagogue.

As I looked over at the two of them sitting next to each other in the front row that night, it occurred to me that not many people in the crowd knew the identity of this man sitting next to Burns. Certainly, Abdo was spared the exaggerated boos on acknowledgement that other Labor MPs received from sections of the crowd.

Perhaps if they knew that Abdo was not only the Member for Calwell, but Australia’s first Muslim Australian MP with Palestinian ancestry, sitting in the synagogue next to his Jewish colleague, they would have felt the weight of its significance, as I did.

My experience of the aftermath of Bondi was to be overwhelmed with calls and messages of kindness and sympathy from my non-Jewish networks. Many moved me to tears – not least the ones that surprised me the most, from people I hadn’t spoken to in years.