Jewish Council of Australia

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The Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) is an Australian Jewish community organisation, founded in February 2024. It was founded to represent non-Zionist Australian Jews [1] and oppose antisemitism and racism. [2] Its supporters have been said to "align with the left" and the group itself has taken many left-wing positions, including being extremely critical of Israel's actions in the Israel–Hamas war. [3] [4]

Contents

Structure

The JCA is co-led by human rights lawyer, Sarah Schwartz and historian Dr Max Kaiser. [5] [6] Notable members of the advisory committee include Louise Adler, Rhonda Galbally and Professor Clare Wright. [6]

History

The JCA was founded in February 2024 by self-described progressive Jews. [7] [5]

In May 2024, the JCA stated their support for Fatima Payman when she described the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip as a "genocide". [8]

In July 2024, the JCA described the Executive Council of Australian Jewry as being a "right-wing Zionist group" in statements to a Senate committee on right-wing extremism. In response, the ECAJ described the JCA as "a micro-group which represents only a thin sliver of opinion on the far-left margins of the Australian Jewish community" and "far-left". Kaiser stated in response that the JCA does not claim to be representative of all Jews in Australia. [4]

In September 2024, the JCA gave evidence to a Senate inquiry on antisemitism, stating their opposition to the Coalition's proposed legislation relating to antisemitism. [9] In the written submission the JCA came out against the bill as "to establish a Commission of Inquiry into Antisemitism considering its potential to create a hierarchy of categories of racism, exacerbate division, and undermine collaborative, multicultural, multi-faith efforts to tackle racism."" [10]

Positions

When they launched, founding Executive Officer Sarah Schwartz said that many Jewish organisations do not recognise that Jews in Australia have diverse views on Israel and that many support a ceasefire. She said that it is not antisemitic to criticise Israel's "unprecedented violence" against Palestinians. [11] The group has stated their opposition to legislating the IHRA definition of antisemitism. [1] [12] The JCA has repeatedly criticised what it classifies as conflation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism. In February 2024 it criticised speakers at a rally in support of Israel for "weaponising the Holocaust" and treating criticism of Israel as antisemitic, and in May 2024 stated that claims of antisemitism were "being used to crack down on legitimate political expression and peaceful protests on campuses" in relation to pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses. [12] [13] The JCA also criticised the Albanese government for appointing Jillian Segal as special envoy on antisemitism, stating that she would be unable to differentiate between criticism of Israel and antisemitism. [7]

Related Research Articles

Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against, Jews. This sentiment is a form of racism, and a person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Primarily, antisemitic tendencies may be motivated by negative sentiment towards Jews as a people or by negative sentiment towards Jews with regard to Judaism. In the former case, usually presented as racial antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by the belief that Jews constitute a distinct race with inherent traits or characteristics that are repulsive or inferior to the preferred traits or characteristics within that person's society. In the latter case, known as religious antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by their religion's perception of Jews and Judaism, typically encompassing doctrines of supersession that expect or demand Jews to turn away from Judaism and submit to the religion presenting itself as Judaism's successor faith—this is a common theme within the other Abrahamic religions. The development of racial and religious antisemitism has historically been encouraged by the concept of anti-Judaism, which is distinct from antisemitism itself.

Soviet anti-Zionism is an anti-Zionist and pro-Arab doctrine promulgated in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. While the Soviet Union initially pursued a pro-Zionist policy after World War II due to its perception that the Jewish state would be socialist and pro-Soviet, its outlook on the Arab–Israeli conflict changed as Israel began to develop a close relationship with the United States and aligned itself with the Western Bloc.

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), represents the interests of the Australian Jewish community to government, politicians, media and other community groups and organisations through research, commentary and analysis. The organisation is directed by Colin Rubenstein, who was previously a political science lecturer at Monash University. AIJAC has office locations in Melbourne and Sydney. AIJAC is formally associated with the American Jewish Committee.

New antisemitism is the concept that a new form of antisemitism developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, typically manifesting itself as anti-Zionism. The concept is included in some definitions of antisemitism, such as the working definition of antisemitism and the 3D test of antisemitism. The concept dates to the early 1970s.

Antisemitic tropes, also known as antisemitic canards or antisemitic libels, are "sensational reports, misrepresentations or fabrications" directed at Jews as an ethnicity or Judaism as a religion.

David Hirsh is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and co-founder of Engage, a campaign against the academic boycott of Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Zionism</span> Opposition to Zionism

Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestine—a region partly coinciding with the biblical Land of Israel—was flawed or unjust in some way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criticism of Israel</span> Disapproval towards the Israeli government

Criticism of Israel is a subject of journalistic and scholarly commentary and research within the scope of international relations theory, expressed in terms of political science. Israel has faced international criticism since its establishment in 1948 relating to a variety of issues, many of which are centered around human rights violations in its occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Dvir Abramovich is an Israeli-Australian Jewish studies academic, columnist, and editor. Abramovich is the chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), a former division of B'nai B'rith in Melbourne, and director of the Program for Jewish Culture and Society at The University of Melbourne. Abramovich's areas of study are the Hebrew language, Israel and Holocaust studies.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, or ECAJ, is an official peak national body representing the Australian Jewish community. It is the umbrella organisation for over 200 Jewish organisations across Australia. It is the Australian affiliate of the World Jewish Congress, the worldwide umbrella organisation of Jewish communities. It is also affiliated with the Commonwealth Jewish Council, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.

The "three Ds" or the "3D test" of antisemitism is a set of criteria formulated in 2003 by Israeli human rights advocate and politician Natan Sharansky in order to distinguish legitimate criticism of Israel from antisemitism. The three Ds stand for delegitimization, demonization, and double standards, each of which, according to the test, indicates antisemitism.

Since World War II, antisemitic prejudice in Italy has seldom taken on aggressive forms.

Antisemitism in Australia is the manifestation of hostility, prejudice or discrimination against the Australian Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, ethnic or racial group. This form of racism has affected Jews since Australia's Jewish community was established in the 18th century. There are a number of organisations that track antisemitic activities, including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, that publish an annual list of all reported antisemitic activities. According to the Anti-Defamation League's 2014 Global100 survey, an estimated 14% of Australians harbour antisemitic views. Antisemitism in Australia is perpetrated by a variety of groups, and it has manifested in the publication of antisemitic publications, in efforts to prevent Jewish immigration, and in attacks on Australian Jews and their religious and communal institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campaign Against Antisemitism</span> British non-governmental organisation

Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) is a British non-governmental organisation established in August 2014 by members of the Anglo-Jewish community. It conducts litigation, runs awareness-raising campaigns, organises rallies and petitions, provides education on antisemitism and publishes research.

There have been instances of antisemitism within the Labour Party of the United Kingdom (UK) since its establishment. One such example is canards about "Jewish finance" during the Boer War. In the 2000s, controversies arose over comments made by Labour politicians regarding an alleged "Jewish lobby", a comparison by London Labour politician Ken Livingstone of a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard, and a 2005 Labour attack on Jewish Conservative Party politician Michael Howard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Voice for Labour</span> British political organisation

Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) is a British organisation formed in 2017 for Jewish members of the Labour Party. Its aims include a commitment "to strengthen the party in its opposition to all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism ... to uphold the right of supporters of justice for Palestinians to engage in solidarity activities", and "to oppose attempts to widen the definition of antisemitism beyond its meaning of hostility towards, or discrimination against, Jews as Jews".

The working definition of antisemitism, also called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism or IHRA definition, is a non-legally binding statement on what antisemitism is, that reads: "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." It was first published by European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) in 2005 and then by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016. Accompanying the working definition, but of disputed status, are 11 illustrative examples whose purpose is described as guiding the IHRA in its work, seven of which relate to criticism of Israel.

Jillian Shirley Segal is an Australian lawyer and business executive and Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism. She is known for her contributions on the boards of government, commercial and non-profit organisations.

Zionist antisemitism or antisemitic Zionism refers to a phenomenon in which antisemites express support for Zionism and the State of Israel. In some cases, this support may be promoted for explicitly antisemitic reasons. Historically, this type of antisemitism has been most notable among Christian Zionists, who may perpetrate religious antisemitism while being outspoken in their support for Jewish sovereignty in Israel due to their interpretation of Christian eschatology. Similarly, people who identify with the political far-right, particularly in Europe and the United States, may support the Zionist movement because they seek to expel Jews from their country and see Zionism as the least complicated method of achieving this goal and satisfying their racial antisemitism.

The exploitation of accusations of antisemitism for political purposes, especially to counter anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel, may be described variously as weaponization of antisemitism, instrumentalization of antisemitism, or playing the antisemitism card. Such bad faith accusations have been criticized as a form of smear tactics. Some writers have compared this to playing the race card.

References

  1. 1 2 "Nearly 80 per cent of Australian Jews are Zionist. What does that mean?". ABC News. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  2. ↑ "Jewish Council Australia - Home". Jewish Council of Australia. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  3. ↑ Stone, Deborah. "Who speaks for Australian Jews? - The Jewish Independent". The Jewish Independent. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 Visontay, Michael. "ECAJ attacks unrepresentative Jewish advocacy – but selectively - The Jewish Independent". The Jewish Independent. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  5. 1 2 Dumas, Daisy (31 March 2024). "A fresh Jewish voice: the new Australian group opposing antisemitism – and Israel's conduct". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Jewish Council Australia - About Us". Jewish Council of Australia. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Anthony Albanese announces antisemitism envoy, says Jewish people 'do not feel safe'". SBS News. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "'From the river to the sea': Labor senator breaks ranks to accuse Israel of genocide". SBS News. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "Jewish Council of Australia to speak at Senate inquiry today opposing Coalition's divisive antisemitism Bill". Jewish Council of Australia. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  10. ↑ "Public Hearings - Inquiry into a Commission of Inquiry into Antisemitism at Australian Universities Bill 2024 (No. 2)". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  11. ↑ Jacobs, Narelda (8 February 2024). "Interview with Sarah Schwartz, Jewish Council of Australia". 10NewsFirst. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  12. 1 2 Carr, Cameron (2 May 2024). "This country is set to broaden its definition of antisemitism. Some critics say it goes too far". SBS News. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  13. ↑ Wong, Kat (19 February 2024). "'Anti-Semitic' rally weaponised memory: Jewish council". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
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