Jewish community leader Dr David Adler defends Dominic Perrottet saying its ‘time to move on’ from Nazi costume scandal

The President of the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) has defended NSW Premier Domonic Perrottet saying he had earnt forgiveness for wearing a Nazi costume and it is “time to move on”.

The 40-year-old NSW premier admitted he had worn the costume at his 21st birthday party, in a surprise announcement on Thursday.

Speaking to Sky News Australia, AJA president Dr David Adler said the premier had done “a stupid thing” that was “highly offensive to the Jewish Community,” but he had more than made up for it with his actions as premier.

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“He was 21 years old and young people occasionally do things that are quite stupid, and occasionally they do things that are offensive,” Dr Adler told Sky News Australia.

“I can say unequivocally that Dom Perrottet’s track record since he’s been in politics has shown zero signs of antisemitism. If anything, on a couple of issues, he’s gone the extra mile to combat antisemitism.

“So, our reaction is that he has earned forgiveness and what happened 20 years ago has zero relevance to present issues in judging the performance of the premier and his government.”

Dr Adler cited the NSW Government’s decision to ban public displays of the Swastika, as well as the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, as among Mr Perrottet’s actions to combat antisemitism.

However, former NSW Labor premier Bob Carr, nevertheless, used some of the premier’s same past actions to accuse both Mr Perrottet and Jewish leaders like Dr Adler of hypocrisy.

“In August the Perrottet Government passed a new law banning the display of Nazi symbols: prison term, fines of $100,000. Jewish leaders asked for it. But they are now rushing to excuse Perrottet undercutting the force of the legislation before the ink is dry,” the former Labor premier tweeted.

“If some kid in Western Sydney who didn’t know better scrawled graffiti on a synagogue they would be demanding prosecution under the new provisions of the crimes act.”

“While Perrottet is Premier no DPP could bring a prosecution.”

Mr Carr, who served as NSW premier from 1995 to 2005, said the past indiscretion made Perrottet “unelectable”.

“I learnt Nazis were genocidal racists through history at a state high school, books from a mobile library and productions like Rise and Fall. With a private school and heaps of privilege how did young Perrottet miss out? Verdict: he is now unelectable,” Mr Carr said.

Responding to the criticism, Dr Adler said the former Labor premier had “very little credibility on the issue”.

“He has turned to be one of the country’s most enthusiastic and vehement critics of Israel,” Dr Adler said.

“I’m certainly not accusing him of personal antisemitism… (but) Bob Carr, I think, has very little credibility on the issue at all.”

While not going as far as the former Labor Premier, current Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers believes the issue would be a factor in the upcoming state election.

“For all of the rest of us that want our communities to be more tolerant and more inclusive, not less tolerant and less inclusive, I think this will be a factor that people will weigh up as we get closer to the NSW election,” Mr Chalmers told Sky News Australia.