A national problem requiring a national body - updated

Updated - I took this post down briefly to read the report of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism. After reading it I only feel greater conviction that a national body to address antisemitism as partly outlined in the opinion piece below is required to tackle the issue.

The Envoy’s plan contains some worthy though not new or innovative recommendations. There are also some quite concerning recommendations that appear to constitute a significant overreach of the office into various sectors including the tertiary education system. In the secondary education sector the report does not address the development of an accepted pedagogy on antisemitism, the language is peculiar and concerning. Similarly on the issues of immigration, law enforcement and the arts there are some troubling recommendations constituting a potential overreach of the office. These are several examples where far broader input and deeper consideration is required. They are also matters so sensitive and potentially controversial and emotive that they cannot be determined by the office of an Envoy which for better or worse will certainly be perceived by a broad section of the community as having a considerable set of biases.

Some elements of the plan are unfeasible, some unworkable, some just disturbingly wrong and some frankly read as antidemocratic. We as a Jewish community and a nation need the conviction to tackle antisemitism and the courage to build social cohesion, not try to unrealistically enforce it.

A national body drawn from a broader community of expertise and representation including of course the Jewish community is required to tackle these issues effectively and coherently. It will ultimately be to the benefit of the Jewish community and all Australians as a true reflection of the building of socially cohesive society.

A national problem requiring a national body

Antisemitism or Jew hatred is a national problem requiring a national body to confront it.

All Australians should be deeply concerned by the significant growth of antisemitic activity in Australia and the lack of structural provisions and genuinely developed guidance to address this complex and profoundly damaging issue.

I believe it is time for the Federal government to take a considered and empowered approach to the development of proper antisemitism action framework in Australia. It is long overdue. Antisemitism remains one of the greatest discrimination and Human Rights issues in our society and an antisemitism body with significant scope of investigation and advisory powers needs to be established.

At this point the Australian government has no proper framework for tackling antisemitism and only a limited framework for understanding it. The former Federal Liberal government theoretically “embraced” the IHRA definition of antisemitism but neither they or the subsequent current Labor government have done anything substantive with that definition which is not manifest in policy or legal form. It needs to be stressed that the IHRA definition whilst being an informative document is by no means the first and last piece in the puzzle of tackling antisemitism, far from it.

A national antisemitism body is required to tackle this very real and dangerous social and legal problem of unique and historic magnitude which has few rivals in its gravity, scale and the damage that is causes to a specific community. It then also reflects damagingly upon the entire Australian community.

Australia has a relatively small but very well-established Jewish community. It is known that different groups within the community are highly versed in the issues of antisemitism and bring a diverse range of views and knowledge to the topic. But tackling this matter is far beyond the reach, scope and national standing of Jewish community groups and whilst community groups must be involved in making representations to an antisemitism body, they should not be involved in running it. Nevertheless, the expertise and composition of the body must be accepted by the Jewish community for it to have credibility.

All our communal bodies each seek to control a political and social narrative from their own perspective but more significantly, none of them has the ability or resources to reach deeply into the broader Australian community or some of the institutions where the problems lie.

This is a national issue not simply a Jewish community issue. It requires a governmental body drawn from both Jewish and non-Jewish Australians of expertise and standing in the fields of education, law, public policy, human rights and history. Whose findings and recommendations can be accepted and most critically understood by all Australians and be used both as educational and legal foundations for genuinely addressing antisemitism and providing guidance. Bodies such as the Australian Human Rights Commission are not equipped and do not possess the skill base to address this matter. Similarly, Jewish communal organisations, private think tanks, ad-hoc taskforces and political parties are not appropriate bodies and simply do not possess the capacity to tackle this issue.

What of our first ever Federal government appointed Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism. What is happening with that? (edited - see comments above)

This thing is real

There is a deep inherent problem when a specific group within society, have to explain or justify themselves, and ask for the privilege of being included or not excluded in certain professional or social spaces. Where we have to seek special protection in our daily lives. Where we have to engage in advocacy work to explain the litany of falsehoods about Jews to people and why they shouldn’t hate us. Where our mode of dress or customs or even our very physical appearance could bring abuse and mockery. Where our collective memory is still informed by collective trauma and we think our children might suffer the same fate. These are contemporary truths for Australian Jews and it is an outrageous situation in a modern enlightened democratic nation.

Antisemitism has always existed in Australia but statistics indicate that it might be at its worst levels today, on the other hand we didn’t keep statistics in the past so that can be deceptive. In 1991 five synagogues were fire-bombed in Sydney, the perpetrators were never caught. We also know that with war and tension between Israel and the Palestinians or others in that region comes increases in antisemitism. But severe antisemitism long predates the modern State of Israel. Antisemitism cannot remain as the political football that has characterised so much of the debate surrounding it. Australia and the Australian Jewish community must demand a better approach. Australian society tackles other issues and must confront this one. A real approach for a real problem.

There is a great deal of complexity, history and emotion attached to the issue of antisemitism. It is the Jewish community that suffers genuine material and emotional harm from antisemitism, but all Australian society and the cohesion of our nation is damaged by it. All indications are that antisemitism continues to grow, and the government has no structure or proper guidelines, educational or legal framework for addressing this problem. Token and disconnected approaches are inadequate. It is time to establish a national body of broad experience with necessary expertise, and to be properly resourced to tackle this crisis both today and for as long as it continues. It is time to do something serious about antisemitism in Australia.