Discussion on Jacinta Allan's ousting, Ben Carroll's appointment as Victoria's Premier, and potential election outcomes, alongside insights into the royal commission on antisemitism.
The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion hears evidence from Melbourne's Adass Israel Synagogue community, firebombed in December 2024. Australia's spy agency alleges Iran orchestrated the attack, which damaged priceless Torah scrolls.
A UNSW academic reported students performing Nazi salutes during a business class. The royal commission into antisemitism heard from Jewish students and academics about their experiences, including loss of friends and being called slurs after the Oct 7 attacks. Universities face new standards to combat discrimination.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told the antisemitism royal commission that mainstream platforms, including X, are actively fighting to distribute and monetise 'gore' and 'fringe' content, challenging regulatory efforts and spending less on safety teams.
The author, a Jewish supporter of Palestinian freedom, details how Israel's defenders weaponize Holocaust memory and Jewish grief against critics, including herself. She argues this framework recasts criticism of Israel as antisemitism, flattening Jewish identity into allegiance to the state and silencing dissent.
The Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) identifies far-right extremism and the conflation of Jewish identity with Israel as primary drivers of antisemitism in Australia. The group's submission to a royal commission highlights the "often overlooked" threat from the far-right and criticizes the tendency to treat Jews collectively as representatives of Israel.
Australia's ABC and SBS broadcasters will not adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism used by a royal commission, citing editorial independence and concerns over illustrative examples conflating criticism of Israel with hatred of Jews.
