The East Melbourne Synagogue was recently attacked while worshippers were inside. The Victorian Government has pledged support. Photo: East Melbourne Synagogue.
Following an arson attack on the East Melbourne Synagogue, the Federal Government has introduced a plan to combat anti-Semitism that some argue will undermine free speech.
The changes were announced by Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism Jillian Segal alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The new regulations would allow the government to strip funding from universities, arts events and broadcasters that do not adequately and actively combat anti-Semitism through a “report card” system.
To enact this change, Ms Segal is using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which has received criticism from some, including its original drafter Kenneth Stern, who said the definition had been weaponised.
Mr Stern told ABC Radio National Breakfast that the definition had been weaponised to “go after pro-Palestinian speech” and use of the definition could be “reminiscent of McCarthyism”.
“It’s being used this way to go after speech, and what that does is not only harms democracy but it blinds us to how anti-Semitism actually works,” he said.
When a question regarding the use of the definition was put to Ms Segal, she said: “The train has moved on, if I might put it that way, and Kenneth Stern has been left behind.”
Mr Stern said: “When you start talking about things relating to Israel, it becomes much more complicated because Israel is a complicated situation.”
Within the Australian Jewish community, reactions differed.
The largest body representing Australian Jews, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), formerly headed by Ms Segal, celebrated the plan on anti-Semitism.
“The ECAJ has strongly endorsed the comprehensive Plan to Combat anti-Semitism, which was released today by the Special Envoy to Combat anti-Semitism,” it said.
“We call upon all sectors of society, including government, law enforcement, the media, the university sector, education authorities and online platform providers, to cooperate with the Special Envoy and the Jewish community to give this action plan full force and effect.”
However, other bodies, such as the Jewish Council of Australia, have criticised the new measures.
“The Jewish Council of Australia has today warned that the newly released Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat anti-Semitism risks undermining Australia’s democratic freedoms, inflaming community divisions, and entrenching selective approaches to racism that serve political agendas,” the council’s statement said.
“The council is especially concerned about the plan’s strong endorsement of the widely discredited IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, which has been used to silence legitimate criticism of Israel and Zionism.”
The council’s executive officer Dr Max Kaiser said: “This document reads more like a blueprint for silencing dissent rather than a strategy to build inclusion.
”The report’s vague language around ‘antisemitic narratives’ or ‘affiliations’, coupled with its emphasis on the discredited IHRA definition of antisemitism, make the actions recommended dangerously unclear.
“Consistent with her past statements erroneously linking antisemitic attacks with Palestine solidarity protests, Segal seems fixated on driving a pro-Israel narrative and repressing legitimate criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”
