By William Ton

Labor members engaging in anti-Semitism face expulsion as an assistant minister declares hatred will not be tolerated among the party’s rank and file.

Referencing an internal letter sent to ALP leaders in NSW calling for stronger action to fight anti-Semitism within party ranks, Assistant Foreign Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said Labor “would not tolerate” such behaviour.

He encouraged Labor members to dob in others who espouse anti-Semitism within the party so the allegations can be investigated as soon as possible.

“The penalties within our party for any form of anti-Semitism or racism include expulsion and we will not hesitate to act to ensure that anyone who expresses anti-Semitic views is expelled from our party,” Mr Thistlethwaite told reporters on Saturday.

Shadow attorney-general Andrew Wallace described the letter, which warned of a “rising tide of anti-Semitism” within the party, as deeply concerning.

The letter from the Labor’s Israel Action Committee alleged “extremely hateful language” is frequently used at branch meetings but edited out of official records.

It also referred to comments by former foreign minister Bob Carr describing an Australian Israel-Jewish lobby as a “foreign influence operation”, which Mr Wallace said was an anti-Semitic trope.

“This paints a troubling picture: a government slow to act against anti-Semitism, reluctant to confront it within its own ranks, and repeatedly dismissive of the concerns of a community living in grief and fear,” he said.

Mr Thistlethwaite, who is also assistant minister for immigration, said the government will support the Jewish community following Bondi by acting on recommendations from the Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism.

Fifteen people celebrating Hanukkah at the Sydney beach were killed when two Islamic State-inspired gunmen open fired on December 14.

“We owe it to Australia’s Jewish community to act now, to keep them safe and to put in place measures to ensure they are free to practise their religion and their faith in Australia in safety,” he said.

The anti-Semitism allegations follow Foreign Minister Penny Wong saying she was “desperately sorry for what has occurred in our country and what the Jewish community have experienced”.

“Sorrow isn’t political; sorrow is felt when we go to our places of worship, when we light a candle for those lost and for those grieving, when we hold our children close,” she told her hometown Adelaide’s newspaper The Advertiser.

She would visit Bondi “when it’s appropriate” and had not attended any funerals for the victims because “funerals are intensely personal, and generally family-led”.

Ten people remain in Sydney hospitals recovering from injuries sustained in the attack, with four in critical condition and the remainder in stable condition.