Anthony Albanese is managing the fallout from an attack on a Melbourne synagogue amid accusations he's been too slow to act. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
"Avalite" — the name given to the special operation of "agile and experienced" state and federal counter-terror specialists called together on Monday to fight anti-Semitism — is a randomised term pulled from a federal police database.
It appears to have no meaning in English.
Google it. You get gibberish.
Which is what much of the Jewish community feels about what it regards as a national failure of leadership to tackle a problem festering in broad daylight for too long.
Monday's taskforce, belatedly created by the Albanese government after Friday's arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne, follows more than a year of what one senior Jewish community leader condemns as "paralysis by indecision".
Political fears about a backlash over combating worsening levels of anti-Semitism has left leaders of all stripes "cowed into silence", said Peter Wertheim, chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
"It's not just our government, but other governments, particularly left-of-centre governments, in Canada and the UK, where there's been a reluctance to call a spade a spade."
"We've been warning for a long time that it was only a matter of time before it skips into violence and we saw that with the burning of the synagogue and the next step is violence towards people.
"Unless there is a sea change by politicians, law enforcement and our so-called leaders in the university sector, it's going to keep getting worse."
A long list of acts of intimidation
Friday's attack is merely the latest, most ugly example from a long list of acts of intimidation and aggression that AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw says have targeted Australians of "Jewish ethnicity or religion … because of who they are".
Labor MP Josh Burns has had his office burnt, cars have been set alight in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Jewish school principals have told students not to wear their uniforms on the street, and Jewish artists have been doxxed.
Last Wednesday, according to Mr Wertheim, hundreds of attendees at The Great Synagogue in Sydney were put into lockdown while a group outside held a demonstration.
But it was only on Monday that authorities deemed as a "terrorist attack" what took place at the Adass Israel synagogue in Ripponlea on Friday.
The full-court media conference, from left to right: Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Albanese, AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw, ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
"This needs to stop," Kershaw said on Monday, as he announced a "flying squad" of law enforcement that would be deployed nationally whenever there were future incidents.
"The AFP will not tolerate crimes that undermine Australia's security or our way of life."
ASIO boss Mike Burgess warned that "grievances are spreading; provocative and inflammatory language are being normalised".
Monday's full-court media conference by ASIO, the AFP, Prime Minister Antony Albanese, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was "better than no reaction at all", Wertheim said.
"But it's going to require a lot more than that to make a difference.
"To make a difference, there's going to have to be a coordinated approach by federal, state and territory governments.
"To reverse a trend in culture takes an enormous effort and it doesn't happen overnight."
Albanese under pressure
Albanese is managing this crisis amid accusations he has been too slow to act.
Some critics wonder why Monday's operation was not brought to life six months ago.
At the same time, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has ratcheted up the pressure on the prime minister by beating him to the punch with a call for a taskforce to address doxxing, hate speech and harassment.
Dutton called the incident at the synagogue a "bombing" multiple times in his press conference on Monday, a term disputed by Victorian police, and threatened to deport anti-Semitic visa holders, despite there being no evidence migrants were involved.
Political row deepens over synagogue attack
Photo shows A composite image of Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese, both wearing thick-rimmed glasses and looking stern.
He also assigned blame.
"It's clear to all Australians that the prime minister's weak leadership has led to a very divisive period in our country, and we have been saying for a long period of time now that the anti-Semitism has always been there in a society like ours, but it really has been exacerbated over the course of the last 13 months."
Labor rejects such charges as inflammatory and political, and points to its decision to release an additional $32 million in Commonwealth funding to help Jewish communities boost security.
"This is a time where the country should be looking for national unity, not looking for areas of distinction and difference over every issue," Albanese said on Monday.
"I would have thought every Australian would be horrified by what occurred last Friday and would be equally prepared to condemn it and oppose it. It's un-Australian."
Wertheim says he has been inundated since Friday's synagogue attack with emails and calls from people, many non-Jewish, across the country incensed at what they see as weak policing and leadership.
"They say the elites have let us down, and we want our Australia back, where everybody gets a fair go."
It's been two decades since a foreign policy crisis has had meaningful domestic political consequences. The re-emergence of virulent anti-Semitism could become something Australian voters end up passing judgement on.