The Jewish Council of Australia is a progressive coalition of Jewish academics, lawyers, writers and teachers formed earlier this year.
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00:00I would say anti-Semitism is a serious issue and we know that it's rising, but this particular,
00:10the way in which the government has appointed this particular anti-Semitism envoy, shows
00:16that it is treating this issue merely as a political issue and not as a racism issue.
00:22The treatment of anti-Semitism as distinct from all other forms of racism really undermines
00:28the important work that is already being done across racial lines to address all forms of
00:33racism and to single out anti-Semitism when we know that other groups are also experiencing
00:39racism including First Nations people, Palestinian and Muslim communities, it really undermines
00:46those wider efforts to fight anti-racism together.
00:49But there is an envoy soon to be appointed to address Islamophobia too, that was part
00:54of that announcement today.
00:56Yes, it is concerning though that the government has gone ahead with the announcement of the
01:01anti-Semitism envoy alone and the primary issue here isn't necessarily whether there
01:08will be other envoys, but really that it doesn't make sense to single out specific forms of
01:14racism, we're not going to have envoys for every single racialised group, we already
01:20have a race discrimination commissioner with a mandate to address racism and what does
01:25it say when only Jews are singled out?
01:28And so we really do have these concerns that this appointment will pit Jewish communities
01:33against other racialised groups and only cause further division.
01:37I guess the government's point is there is heightened incidence of racism within these
01:43groups at the moment with the war that's going on.
01:48Absolutely there is heightened racism against Jewish people, I know that, I've experienced
01:54that personally, other members of the Jewish Council have also experienced that, but what
01:59we've seen the Albanese government do today is appoint an anti-Semitism envoy who instead
02:06of having a background in fighting anti-racism and academic credentials to back that up,
02:13rather he's appointed an envoy with a track record in previous roles of lobbying for Israel,
02:18of opposing voices that support Palestinian human rights, and painting all Jewish people
02:23as supportive of Israel's actions, when we know that in fact there are many Jewish people
02:28like myself and other people around the country who support Palestinian freedom and human
02:32rights, and so there are real concerns that this appointment will be used for political
02:37purposes to lobby for Israel, to stifle voices in support of Palestinian human rights, and
02:43ultimately in a way that does not make Jewish people more safe.
02:47And so what is wrong with someone who has lobbied for Israel?
02:54Well, the concern here is that this position will be used for political purposes.
03:01It's very important that people make a distinction between Jewish identity and support for Israel.
03:07There are many Jewish people like myself who are appalled at what Israel is currently doing
03:13in Gaza, and to appoint someone who conflates Jewish identity with the state of Israel
03:20will risk breeding and fueling anti-Semitism against Jewish people by aligning us all
03:27with the state of Israel. And it's really important that anti-Semitism is addressed
03:32and that we distinguish between genuine incidents of anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism
03:38of the Israeli government and the Israeli military. And if you conflate the two,
03:43as this envoy has done in the past, well it means that it's very difficult for people
03:48to identify real instances of anti-Semitism and it risks watering down legitimate claims
03:55of anti-Semitism which we know are rising. But the Executive Council of Australian Juries
03:59says Jill Siegel, and that's the person you've been referring to who's been appointed today,
04:03the councillor says she is the right person for the job because of what it describes as her
04:10moderation. Well, what I would say is that this particular envoy is the previous President of
04:19the Executive Council of Australian Jury who has been a primary pro-war voice in Australia.
04:27They have relied on anti-Palestinian racism to justify Israel's violence against Palestinians
04:35and have been a body that has been lobbying for the silencing of Palestinian voices,
04:40including lobbying for the silencing of Jewish voices in support of Palestinian freedom and
04:45human rights. So there are real concerns that this particular envoy will not represent all
04:52Jewish people or call out important instances of anti-Semitism but will use this position
04:57for political purposes to stifle voices in support of Palestinian human rights.
05:03Your description of her, I think, or them as pro-war, I think that's based on what she's
05:10quoted to have said at a rally in terms of the offensive must continue until Hamas is destroyed.
05:23You argue that's a fair enough description of saying she's pro-war on the basis of that?
05:30Well, the current, and as Anthony Albanese said today in his press release about the announcement
05:36of the envoy, the Australian government is committed to a ceasefire and has been lobbying
05:41for a ceasefire. But we don't see an anti-Semitism commissioner that is lobbying for those reasons.
05:48And so I think it's incredibly concerning that we have a commissioner being appointed
05:52who has lobbied so vociferously for the state of Israel and has not spoken out against Israel's
06:00egregious human rights abuses. I think that that shows that there is a real risk that this envoy
06:07position will be used for political reasons to continue to lobby for Israel and to continue to
06:14conflate Jewish identity with the state of Israel, which we know that there are many Jewish people
06:20like myself, as I said, who don't support what the state of Israel is doing at the moment.
06:26Yeah, but I might also just point out that the Executive Council of the Australian Jury was
06:30just on the channel in the last hour and he was adamant that it is not necessarily anti-Semitic
06:37to criticise the government for doing whatever it's doing. That is not an anti-Semitic thing
06:43to do. So, again, do you argue it's fair enough to claim those points that you have?
06:55Look, I think that's great that they've said that criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism,
07:01but we need to look at the track record of these groups and their track record, including this
07:06anti-Semitism envoy's track record, is of saying that, you know, scarves worn in solidarity with
07:13Palestinians, chants calling for freedom and equality for Palestinians, saying that these
07:18things make Jewish people feel unsafe and are instances of anti-Semitism. And so there are
07:24clear records of these groups making these claims. And mind you, there are many Jewish people who
07:29have been at Palestinian solidarity rallies, who've been making those same chants that these
07:35groups claim are anti-Semitic. And so I think we really need to look at the track record of
07:39these groups. And the track record of these groups is using claims of anti-Semitism to stifle voices
07:45in support of Palestinian freedom and justice. And that is really concerning because if you do that,
07:51and if you use anti-Semitism and the language of anti-Semitism in that way,
07:56then it means that we can't identify real instances of anti-Semitism, which we know
08:01are on the rise. We know that the far right is on the rise. We know that there are neo-Nazis,
08:06particularly where I live in Victoria, who are planning, who are making plans and who
08:12pose a real threat to Jewish people. And instead, if we just call criticisms of Israel or displays
08:19of solidarity with Palestinians or anti-war university students, if we call these things
08:23anti-Semitic, well, it really waters down the claim of anti-Semitism entirely.