Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced the plan at Bondi Central Synagogue on Monday, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese asked Australians activists for calm during a six-week ceasefire in Gaza.
Mr Dutton said those found guilty of terrorism would face a minimum six years in prison and anyone caught displaying the likes of Hamas or Hezbollah flags would be hit with at least a 12-month sentence.
The announcement follows cars being torched and graffitied with anti-Semitic phrases in Sydney in recent weeks, along with graffiti including red swastikas on multiple synagogues.
In December, the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne's south was firebombed in an attack condemned by Mr Albanese and other leaders.
"The prime minister is playing politics with this issue because he sees political advantage in some Green seats by abrogating his priority to Jewish Australians," Mr Dutton told reporters.
"An attack on a Jewish family or an attack on any family is an attack on all of us."
Mr Dutton said he would convene a national cabinet to combat anti-Semitism and extremism if elected.
He also pledged to amend draft laws before the parliament to make it a hate crime to urge or threaten violence towards a place of worship.
This would be punishable by five years' imprisonment or seven years in the case of an aggravated offence.
Synagogues, homes and cars have been vandalised and torched in attacks on the Jewish community. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
About 100,000 Jewish people live in Australia, with large congregations in Melbourne and Sydney's eastern suburbs.
Zionist Federation of Australia chief executive Alon Cassuto said there was a need for extra protection around Jewish neighbourhoods and places of worship.
"In 2025, it's unthinkable that Jewish families feel unsafe in their own suburbs, that community leaders are targeted, and synagogues are vandalised and burned," he said.
"It's time for governments at every level to take responsibility and make combating anti-Semitism a national priority."
However, Mr Albanese rejected any assertions the government's action on anti-Semitism had been inadequate.
Asked about legislative reform, Mr Albanese said you can "never legislate the behaviour of 27 million Australians".
"Anti-Semitism has been horrific, something that needs to be stamped out. My government has taken every action that we could," he told ABC radio in Sydney.
Leaders condemned the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne's south. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)
"These instances of hate that we have seen aimed at the Jewish community are crimes, and they should be prosecuted to the full force of the law."
His government established Special Operation Avalite to respond to incidents of anti-Semitism late last year, months after appointing Jillian Segal as the country's special envoy for anti-Semitism and Islamophobia envoy Aftab Malik.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said hate speech laws are expected to be strengthened when the state's parliament reconvenes in February.
"There are bad actors out there that are intent on vilifying an individual on the basis of their race or religion ... it picks apart at the seams of multicultural fabric that we have here," he said.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said the beginning of the ceasefire in Gaza was the time to bring "peace to our streets".
"(We need to) focus on providing support for those who are grieving, the support for the Jewish community ... and our broader Islamic community, there is hurt on both sides here," she told reporters.
Islamophobia Register Australia executive director Nora Amath said graffiti was found on a Muslim-owned business at Wiley Park in Sydney's southwest earlier in January.
She said the vandalism was a "dangerous and growing trend of anti-Muslim sentiment" and was filled with unfounded stereotypes, racial slurs, and inflammatory statements.
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