Is Australia finally waking up and pushing back against the tsunami of antisemitic attacks that have swept through the country in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel?

The mayor of Sydney canceled an event by an anti-Israel group called Stop the War on Palestine that promotes the slogan “Globalize the intifada.”

The event was scheduled for Tuesday against the backdrop of the Royal Commission’s hearings this week on antisemitism and the state of New South Wales (NSW)’s consideration of banning the phrase.

“I have asked the City’s CEO to withdraw the booking of an event in a City-owned venue that is advertised as: ‘Why it is right to say Globalise the Intifada,'” Mayor Clover Moore posted on Facebook Monday.

“I have long supported the principles of peaceful assembly, protest and freedom of speech,” she added. “However, these rights must always be balanced with a responsibility to ensure public safety and respect for all members of our diverse community.”

Moore took aim at Rupert Murdoch-owned media outlets, which she said campaigned against the event in bad faith.

“The coverage has exploited trauma, painting complex issues in black and white and, in bad faith, demanded our communities take sides,” she scolded. “The media has an important role in how it presents and helps the community interpret challenging issues, and I am extremely concerned that in this case, some outlets are driving a discourse of division that has heightened tensions more than any small community event could.”

NSW council members had previously resisted calls to cancel the event, saying they supported freedom of assembly if no laws are broken. Nevertheless, following public backlash, the event was initially moved from a state council-owned community center to the East Sydney Community and Arts Centre before being canceled altogether.

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies approved of the step taken by the mayor to cancel the event.

“We have been engaging intensively with the council to explain why this event would endanger public safety and grievously undermine social cohesion,” the organization posted on Facebook. “We are pleased that this toxic event will no longer take place at a council venue and reiterate our calls for this phrase to be proscribed as swiftly as possible.”

This move could be too little, too late, or it could mark a turning point. But many observers say that once the genie of antisemitism is unleashed in the way it has been, it can no longer effectively be returned to the bottle.