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West Australian
17-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
NSW government to probe anti-Semitism response amid concerns about anti-hate laws
A peak Jewish body has claimed controversial anti-protest laws introduced by the NSW government in a bid to crack down on alleged anti-Semitic incidents have not made many in the community feel safer on the eve of the first public hearing into the issue. Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers MP Robert Borsak will chair the first hearing in state parliament on Monday of the NSW Legislative Council's inquiry into anti-Semitism in NSW, alongside Greens MLC Amanda Cohn and MLCs from Labor and the Liberals. The inquiry seeks to examine the underlying causes behind the 'increasing prevalence and severity' of anti-Semitism in NSW as well as the 'threat to social cohesion' it presents and how the safety of the state's Jewish community 'might be enhanced'. It comes after a string of high-profile anti-Semitic incidents across Greater Sydney over the summer, some of which police now allege were part of a criminal conspiracy, prompting the Labor government to introduce harsh new anti-hate laws. The laws, which criminalise a range of activities outside places of worship, were criticised by Jewish Council of Australia executive officer Sarah Schwartz, who said the 'law and order measures' failed to address the root causes of anti-Semitism in Australia. 'The government needs to get serious about addressing the root causes of hatred,' Ms Schwartz said. 'The measures they are proposing are really after-the-fact measures – law and order measures. There is no evidence that they actually reduce racism.' She said there was a 'serious issue of racism and anti-Semitism', including a rise in right-wing extremism and 'anti-Semitic stunts' and urged state and federal governments to invest in long-term prevention and education to disrupt far-right recruitment. The Jewish Council of Australia was founded in February 2024 and is co-led by Ms Schwartz, a human rights lawyer, and historian Max Kaiser. It was one of more than 70 organisations, individuals and government bodies to submit to the inquiry. In its submission, the council urged the government to adopt a 'unified commitment to opposing all forms of racism' that did not create 'hierarchies of racism' and to target systemic causes, including of Islamophobia and an anti-Palestinian racism. 'What we've seen is the often very deliberate conflation of anti-Semitism, which is hatred of Jewish people, with criticism of the state of Israel … the government shouldn't be suppressing free speech which should be allowed to criticise nation states,' she said. Ms Schwartz said conflating Judaism and the state of Israel 'makes us (Jewish people) less safe in our identities' and warned that the tying of the state government's anti-hate laws with anti-Semitism specifically also put the community at further risk. 'There's been this sort of false connection between anti-Semitic incidents and protests, which hasn't been borne out. That, on its own, is quite dangerous,' she said. 'If the government continues to single out anti-Semitism and just make laws they say for the benefit of the Jewish community, the message that it sends to every other racialised group is that anti-Semitism is a more serious form of racism.' Dural caravan conspiracy A separate inquiry was launched in April into the 'relationship between the Dural caravan incident and parliamentary debates on legislation', namely the so-called anti-protest laws, with an initial hearing held that same month. A Bill was introduced on February 11 and passed on February 20, less than a month after news of the van, a fabricated terrorist plot targeting the Jewish community, first broke and gives new powers to police in regard to protests at or near places of worship and increases criminal penalties. The government did not point to the caravan as the reason for the Bill and instead cited a series of anti-Semitic arson and graffiti attacks in Sydney. Some of those incidents were later connected to the Dural criminal conspiracy. NSW Council of Civil Liberties president Tim Roberts cautioned the government that it couldn't 'legislate our way to social cohesion' and there was a risk that 'in trying to limit speech and out ability to protest, that we cut off our nose despite our face'. 'In trying to respond to difficult circumstances in a kneejerk way, without hearing from the community before those laws are made, they're going to make mistakes. They've made mistakes, and our community suffers as a whole,' he said. He went on to add: 'The more we push speech into the back corners of some Reddit forum, somewhere where anti-Semitism and hate festers because we're using police powers to try and limit and enforce it, the more as a community we can't identify, solve and respond to and reject a problem, and these laws don't help us do that.' Mr Roberts said the NSWCLL recommended that the government changed the laws.'While I think everyone in the room that's behaving sensibly here sees that there's some problems with what's happened, there's not a lot of motivation to change those laws,' he said. While the inquiry will focus on the state's response, local councils have also responded to the reported rise in anti-Semitism. Sydney's Waverley City Council is home to the state's largest Jewish population and has been rocked by high-profile anti-Semitic and anti-Israel attacks and incidents. In its submission to the inquiry, the council reported several incidents, including a synagogue being defaced with Nazi symbols and Jewish schoolchildren being targeted. 'The level of anti-Semitism experienced in the local community has been abhorrent, deliberate and has caused real harm,' Mayor Will Namesh said. 'Waverley Council has taken a comprehensive approach by working with local law enforcement for community safety, developing and implementing a first-of-its-kind local government strategy to combat anti-Semitism. 'By launching this strategy, Waverley Council is taking a proactive stance in ensuring that anti-Semitism is confronted and that all residents can thrive in an environment of mutual respect and social cohesion.' Mr Namesh said the council had been advocating to state and federal governments for 'direct action to support and protect the Jewish community'. 'As the level of government closest to the people, local councils have a critical role in fostering inclusive, safe, and connected communities,' he said. 'As mayor, in addition to supporting the anti-Semitism inquiry, I also call on the state government to support funding for local government initiatives.' Jewish community voices concern More than 70 submissions were made to the inquiry ahead of the first hearing on Monday, including from individuals, Jewish representative groups, and civil rights organisations. The inquiry will also seek to examine incidents on school and university campuses in NSW following an earlier inquiry into the Anti-Semitism at Australian Universities Bill 2024. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) referred in its submission to a December 2024 interim report into reports of racism at Australian universities, including acts of anti-Semitism. The report found 'both interpersonal and structural racism' was 'pervasive and deeply entrenched' at the country's universities, including towards Muslim and Palestinian students. Students reported to AHRC being made to feel 'unsafe and unwelcome' because of racism, while staff said they felt 'othered' and less confident expressing their identity or opinions. More than 20 individuals, many of Jewish heritage, provided submissions to the inquiry. Many, like Sam Altman, highlighted a need to combat anti-Semitism but said that it must 'be part of a broader anti-racism movement rooted in solidarity' with 'all marginalised groups'. The child of Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivors said: 'Efforts to address anti-Semitism through criminalisation or by exceptionalising it above other forms of racism are counter-productive.' Others, like Rose Saltman, feared 'any criticism of Israel be conflated with anti-Semitism' and blamed 'public figures' for exacerbating both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. 'At this time of unconscionable brutality by Israel in Palestine, should the NSW government be swayed by a partisan political campaign exploiting some real concerns to redefine anti-Semitism to stifle political speech and action?' Martin Munz said in his submission. Other individuals who made submissions to the parliamentary inquiry included former Middle East correspondent David Leser and Vaucluse MP Kellie Sloane. Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism also made submissions to the inquiry.
Perth Now
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Warning ahead of anti-Semitism probe
A peak Jewish body has claimed controversial anti-protest laws introduced by the NSW government in a bid to crack down on alleged anti-Semitic incidents have not made many in the community feel safer on the eve of the first public hearing into the issue. Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers MP Robert Borsak will chair the first hearing in state parliament on Monday of the NSW Legislative Council's inquiry into anti-Semitism in NSW, alongside Greens MLC Amanda Cohn and MLCs from Labor and the Liberals. The inquiry seeks to examine the underlying causes behind the 'increasing prevalence and severity' of anti-Semitism in NSW as well as the 'threat to social cohesion' it presents and how the safety of the state's Jewish community 'might be enhanced'. It comes after a string of high-profile anti-Semitic incidents across Greater Sydney over the summer, some of which police now allege were part of a criminal conspiracy, prompting the Labor government to introduce harsh new anti-hate laws. The laws, which criminalise a range of activities outside places of worship, were criticised by Jewish Council of Australia executive officer Sarah Schwartz, who said the 'law and order measures' failed to address the root causes of anti-Semitism in Australia. 'The government needs to get serious about addressing the root causes of hatred,' Ms Schwartz said. 'The measures they are proposing are really after-the-fact measures – law and order measures. There is no evidence that they actually reduce racism.' The state government will probe an increase in anti-Semitic attacks. NewsWire / Simon Bullard. Credit: News Corp Australia She said there was a 'serious issue of racism and anti-Semitism', including a rise in right-wing extremism and 'anti-Semitic stunts' and urged state and federal governments to invest in long-term prevention and education to disrupt far-right recruitment. The Jewish Council of Australia was founded in February 2024 and is co-led by Ms Schwartz, a human rights lawyer, and historian Max Kaiser. It was one of more than 70 organisations, individuals and government bodies to submit to the inquiry. In its submission, the council urged the government to adopt a 'unified commitment to opposing all forms of racism' that did not create 'hierarchies of racism' and to target systemic causes, including of Islamophobia and an anti-Palestinian racism. 'What we've seen is the often very deliberate conflation of anti-Semitism, which is hatred of Jewish people, with criticism of the state of Israel … the government shouldn't be suppressing free speech which should be allowed to criticise nation states,' she said. Ms Schwartz said conflating Judaism and the state of Israel 'makes us (Jewish people) less safe in our identities' and warned that the tying of the state government's anti-hate laws with anti-Semitism specifically also put the community at further risk. 'There's been this sort of false connection between anti-Semitic incidents and protests, which hasn't been borne out. That, on its own, is quite dangerous,' she said. 'If the government continues to single out anti-Semitism and just make laws they say for the benefit of the Jewish community, the message that it sends to every other racialised group is that anti-Semitism is a more serious form of racism.' Dural caravan conspiracy A separate inquiry was launched in April into the 'relationship between the Dural caravan incident and parliamentary debates on legislation', namely the so-called anti-protest laws, with an initial hearing held that same month. A Bill was introduced on February 11 and passed on February 20, less than a month after news of the van, a fabricated terrorist plot targeting the Jewish community, first broke and gives new powers to police in regard to protests at or near places of worship and increases criminal penalties. The government did not point to the caravan as the reason for the Bill and instead cited a series of anti-Semitic arson and graffiti attacks in Sydney. Some of those incidents were later connected to the Dural criminal conspiracy. NSW Council of Civil Liberties president Tim Roberts cautioned the government that it couldn't 'legislate our way to social cohesion' and there was a risk that 'in trying to limit speech and out ability to protest, that we cut off our nose despite our face'. 'In trying to respond to difficult circumstances in a kneejerk way, without hearing from the community before those laws are made, they're going to make mistakes. They've made mistakes, and our community suffers as a whole,' he said. Sarah Schwartz said anti-hate laws had not helped some in the community feel safer. Credit: Supplied He went on to add: 'The more we push speech into the back corners of some Reddit forum, somewhere where anti-Semitism and hate festers because we're using police powers to try and limit and enforce it, the more as a community we can't identify, solve and respond to and reject a problem, and these laws don't help us do that.' Mr Roberts said the NSWCLL recommended that the government changed the laws.'While I think everyone in the room that's behaving sensibly here sees that there's some problems with what's happened, there's not a lot of motivation to change those laws,' he said. While the inquiry will focus on the state's response, local councils have also responded to the reported rise in anti-Semitism. Sydney's Waverley City Council is home to the state's largest Jewish population and has been rocked by high-profile anti-Semitic and anti-Israel attacks and incidents. In its submission to the inquiry, the council reported several incidents, including a synagogue being defaced with Nazi symbols and Jewish schoolchildren being targeted. 'The level of anti-Semitism experienced in the local community has been abhorrent, deliberate and has caused real harm,' Mayor Will Namesh said. 'Waverley Council has taken a comprehensive approach by working with local law enforcement for community safety, developing and implementing a first-of-its-kind local government strategy to combat anti-Semitism. 'By launching this strategy, Waverley Council is taking a proactive stance in ensuring that anti-Semitism is confronted and that all residents can thrive in an environment of mutual respect and social cohesion.' Mr Namesh said the council had been advocating to state and federal governments for 'direct action to support and protect the Jewish community'. 'As the level of government closest to the people, local councils have a critical role in fostering inclusive, safe, and connected communities,' he said. 'As mayor, in addition to supporting the anti-Semitism inquiry, I also call on the state government to support funding for local government initiatives.' Jewish community voices concern More than 70 submissions were made to the inquiry ahead of the first hearing on Monday, including from individuals, Jewish representative groups, and civil rights organisations. The inquiry will also seek to examine incidents on school and university campuses in NSW following an earlier inquiry into the Anti-Semitism at Australian Universities Bill 2024. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) referred in its submission to a December 2024 interim report into reports of racism at Australian universities, including acts of anti-Semitism. Cars, businesses, and places of worship were targeted over the summer. NewsWire / Simon Bullard. Credit: News Corp Australia The report found 'both interpersonal and structural racism' was 'pervasive and deeply entrenched' at the country's universities, including towards Muslim and Palestinian students. Students reported to AHRC being made to feel 'unsafe and unwelcome' because of racism, while staff said they felt 'othered' and less confident expressing their identity or opinions. More than 20 individuals, many of Jewish heritage, provided submissions to the inquiry. Many, like Sam Altman, highlighted a need to combat anti-Semitism but said that it must 'be part of a broader anti-racism movement rooted in solidarity' with 'all marginalised groups'. The child of Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivors said: 'Efforts to address anti-Semitism through criminalisation or by exceptionalising it above other forms of racism are counter-productive.' Others, like Rose Saltman, feared 'any criticism of Israel be conflated with anti-Semitism' and blamed 'public figures' for exacerbating both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. 'At this time of unconscionable brutality by Israel in Palestine, should the NSW government be swayed by a partisan political campaign exploiting some real concerns to redefine anti-Semitism to stifle political speech and action?' Martin Munz said in his submission. Other individuals who made submissions to the parliamentary inquiry included former Middle East correspondent David Leser and Vaucluse MP Kellie Sloane. Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism also made submissions to the inquiry.
Sydney Morning Herald
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
I thought Kim Williams was the wrong pick to lead the ABC. Now I'm sure
Gutman played the antisemite card with Williams. Was Gutman being rejected because he was Jewish? This will be the first time Gutman ever made me laugh. What complete nonsense. The ABC hosts Jews of all kinds, from the Jewish Board of Deputies to the Jewish Council of Australia. They aren't antisemitic. They are anti-boring. They are anti-out-of-date. The ABC is not there to provide free publicity for pub gigs. Besser again: 'The comedian would have the last laugh, however, because as these regional bureaus soon learnt, Sandy Gutman had a man on the inside, none other than Kim Williams, chairman of the ABC.' Yes, Gutman dropped the chair's name – not that there's anything wrong with that. Name-dropping is not yet a crime in this country (although, yes please). Then Williams himself actually intervened. Turns out the chair had also been lobbying on his behalf in a series of correspondence with those much further down the ABC food chain. Head of audio, Ben Latimer, who also played a part in the Antoinette Lattouf fiasco. He then tried to widen his influence by copying Donna Field in on a giant mess of his own creation. The way it's meant to go is that if the chair wants to discuss what's going on within the organisation, he deals with the managing director, who was then David Anderson and is now Hugh Marks. Which Latimer is not, although I'm sure he has ambitions. Why didn't Williams call Justin Stevens? Haha. Reckon Stevens would have told him to bugger off. You would have to presume it's not just Gutman. If you love to wield power and influence, you aren't going to waste it on someone whose last mildly interesting work was 40 years ago. I have so many questions. Why would you intervene on behalf of an 'acquaintance'? Media Watch scored a response from the chair, who said he and Gutman had a 'brief involvement some 27 years ago'. This is completely un-understandable. Let me tell you what people who've worked with Williams in the past have said about the challenges of working with him: 'Good boards have a very clear distinction between governance and operations and operational stuff, in a media company, even more so.' And look what Hugh Marks said today: 'I have been at the ABC a short time, but I am vigilant to ensure the proper delineation of responsibility between the board and management, and will act appropriately to ensure the best interests of the ABC, its people and audiences as we move forward.' Same. So, is this what Williams is doing with his time? You would have to presume it's not just Gutman. The former comedian is a nobody in the scheme of things. If you love to wield power and influence, you aren't going to waste it on someone whose last mildly interesting work was 40 years ago. Loading Editorial independence matters more than anything I can think of. It's why journalists at Nine went absolutely ballistic when Hugh Marks held a $10,000-per-head Liberal Party at the media organisation's headquarters in 2019. It's why journalists from The Australian are trying to get out of there as fast as they can. As another former board member told me, 'This was an editorial decision, and a media board should never get involved. The board's job is to ensure strategy is right, to develop risk frames, to choose the right CEO.' It's not to decide who should be on local radio. The thing is, this story about Gutman and Williams has been circulating since December, when the widely adored Sarah Macdonald was peremptorily dumped from her spot. Oh my god. I do not think my phone has ever run hotter than that moment. People told me about the existence of emails from Williams. Responses to emails. And I love that new and lovely Media Watch presenter Linton Besser and his team kept going until they could stand it up a week ago. Two things: awesome to observe the courage of standing up to management, and I hear they've been inundated with love from within and without. My only wish is that Williams is dumped. Or he could display some courage himself and quit. Then I hope he is replaced by someone who understands what it means to be a chair of an organisation like the ABC. We aren't meant to hear from them but from the people who work for them. Advice to governments: stop choosing celebrity chairs. Maybe vote for David Thodey. Never heard of him? Good.
The Age
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
I thought Kim Williams was the wrong pick to lead the ABC. Now I'm sure
Gutman played the antisemite card with Williams. Was Gutman being rejected because he was Jewish? This will be the first time Gutman ever made me laugh. What complete nonsense. The ABC hosts Jews of all kinds, from the Jewish Board of Deputies to the Jewish Council of Australia. They aren't antisemitic. They are anti-boring. They are anti-out-of-date. The ABC is not there to provide free publicity for pub gigs. Besser again: 'The comedian would have the last laugh, however, because as these regional bureaus soon learnt, Sandy Gutman had a man on the inside, none other than Kim Williams, chairman of the ABC.' Yes, Gutman dropped the chair's name – not that there's anything wrong with that. Name-dropping is not yet a crime in this country (although, yes please). Then Williams himself actually intervened. Turns out the chair had also been lobbying on his behalf in a series of correspondence with those much further down the ABC food chain. Head of audio, Ben Latimer, who also played a part in the Antoinette Lattouf fiasco. He then tried to widen his influence by copying Donna Field in on a giant mess of his own creation. The way it's meant to go is that if the chair wants to discuss what's going on within the organisation, he deals with the managing director, who was then David Anderson and is now Hugh Marks. Which Latimer is not, although I'm sure he has ambitions. Why didn't Williams call Justin Stevens? Haha. Reckon Stevens would have told him to bugger off. You would have to presume it's not just Gutman. If you love to wield power and influence, you aren't going to waste it on someone whose last mildly interesting work was 40 years ago. I have so many questions. Why would you intervene on behalf of an 'acquaintance'? Media Watch scored a response from the chair, who said he and Gutman had a 'brief involvement some 27 years ago'. This is completely un-understandable. Let me tell you what people who've worked with Williams in the past have said about the challenges of working with him: 'Good boards have a very clear distinction between governance and operations and operational stuff, in a media company, even more so.' And look what Hugh Marks said today: 'I have been at the ABC a short time, but I am vigilant to ensure the proper delineation of responsibility between the board and management, and will act appropriately to ensure the best interests of the ABC, its people and audiences as we move forward.' Same. So, is this what Williams is doing with his time? You would have to presume it's not just Gutman. The former comedian is a nobody in the scheme of things. If you love to wield power and influence, you aren't going to waste it on someone whose last mildly interesting work was 40 years ago. Loading Editorial independence matters more than anything I can think of. It's why journalists at Nine went absolutely ballistic when Hugh Marks held a $10,000-per-head Liberal Party at the media organisation's headquarters in 2019. It's why journalists from The Australian are trying to get out of there as fast as they can. As another former board member told me, 'This was an editorial decision, and a media board should never get involved. The board's job is to ensure strategy is right, to develop risk frames, to choose the right CEO.' It's not to decide who should be on local radio. The thing is, this story about Gutman and Williams has been circulating since December, when the widely adored Sarah Macdonald was peremptorily dumped from her spot. Oh my god. I do not think my phone has ever run hotter than that moment. People told me about the existence of emails from Williams. Responses to emails. And I love that new and lovely Media Watch presenter Linton Besser and his team kept going until they could stand it up a week ago. Two things: awesome to observe the courage of standing up to management, and I hear they've been inundated with love from within and without. My only wish is that Williams is dumped. Or he could display some courage himself and quit. Then I hope he is replaced by someone who understands what it means to be a chair of an organisation like the ABC. We aren't meant to hear from them but from the people who work for them. Advice to governments: stop choosing celebrity chairs. Maybe vote for David Thodey. Never heard of him? Good.
The Guardian
31-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Five Great Reads: the contested history of YMCA, a week without texting, and has the world reached a turning point ?
Top of the weekend to you all. My head is still spinning from this week's news onslaught so I will forgo a pithy prologue and get straight to the selection. Enjoy! Peter Dutton's voice has been one of the loudest in condemning a spate of antisemitic incidents in Australia's two biggest cities. But Sarah Schwartz, executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, writes that the Coalition's concern for Jews 'appears to me to be confected and self-serving'. Key point: The crux of Schwartz's argument is that using reductive language in support of Jews 'actually makes all of us less safe'. How long will it take to read: Three minutes. As a phone-averse Gen Xer I am very much picking up what Kate McCusker, 27, is putting down: 'Phone calls are an outmoded, laboured form of communication.' But she went ahead with a crazy experiment anyway, spending seven days calling people rather than texting. This is what she learned. The existential dread of our ringtone: A UK survey found 56% of 18- to 34-year-olds assume a spontaneous call means bad news. How long will it take to read: Five minutes. Further reading: Christopher Walken has revealed he has no mobile phone and has never had a watch (except as an actor in that pivotal Pulp Fiction scene). It's hard to look at events in the United States, in Gaza, at climate catastrophes everywhere and not contemplate what fresh hell we're currently living through. David Motadel, a history professor, notes that Joe Biden recently told the UN the world is at another 'inflection point'. And while books have been written about 1917, 1979 and more, Motadel's thesis is that tectonic shifts evolve over decades. 'Major moments in history have had irreversible consequences. Yet, we should be cautious not to obsess too much about the events as such. In fact, the fixation on turning points risks overlooking their deeper causes.' – David Motadel How long will it take to read: Five minutes. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion It's one of the most perplexing subplots of the Donald Trump era: the adoption of Village People's 1978 disco bomb YMCA as a staple of the US president's campaign rallies. The story of how the song's writer, the 'cop' Victor Willis, and a group calling themselves the Village People performed at Trump's inauguration begins in the late 1970s: at a casting call for a boyband based on gay fantasy characters. How big was YMCA back in the day: Village People were for a brief period such a hot live prospect that Madonna and Michael Jackson opened for them. How long will it take to read: Four minutes. At 46, Jo Nemeth had a good job and a partner she loved, but was 'deeply unhappy'. So she quit, gave the last of her money to her 18-year-old daughter, closed her bank account and decided to go cashless – literally. Now 56 and single, Nemeth doesn't own a home or any property, nor have a generous benefactor or a secret stash of emergency cash. She shares how she has not only survived, but flourished. What about paying for dental work? Nemeth is not 'anti-cash', and has come up with a workaround – she will set up a GoFundMe campaign to create a dental fund and offer how-to lessons as rewards. How long will it take to read: Five minutes. Enjoying the Five Great Reads email? Then you'll love our weekly culture and lifestyle newsletter, Saved for Later. Sign up here to catch up on the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture, trends and tips for the weekend. And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters.
