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Envoy's definition won't conflate antisemitism with criticising Israel

Envoy's definition won't conflate antisemitism with criticising Israel

Of course, political criticism of Israel is legitimate, even warranted sometimes. But antisemitism, a term for anti-Jewish racism and hatred, is not. That is at the heart of Australia's antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal's call for effective education, monitoring and management of those who overstep the mark.
In Australia, criticism of Israel is commonplace. Deserved criticism of the wild men in the Israeli cabinet, including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for their racist statements about Palestinians is a case in point.
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Netanyahu's coalition rattled as ultra-Orthodox party exits over conscription bill
Netanyahu's coalition rattled as ultra-Orthodox party exits over conscription bill

The Age

time6 hours ago

  • The Age

Netanyahu's coalition rattled as ultra-Orthodox party exits over conscription bill

Tel Aviv: An Israeli ultra-Orthodox alliance of parties that has been a key governing partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was leaving the coalition government, threatening to destabilise the Israeli leader's rule at a pivotal time in the war in Gaza. United Torah Judaism's two parties said they were quitting the government due to a long-running dispute over a failure to draft a bill to exempt ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students from military service. The issue has long divided Jewish Israelis, most of whom are required to enlist, a rift that has only widened since the war in Gaza began and demands on military manpower grew. The departure of an alliance that has long served as a kingmaker in Israeli politics doesn't immediately threaten Netanyahu's rule. But, once it comes into effect within 48 hours, it will leave the Israeli leader with a razor-thin majority in a government that could now more heavily rely on the whims of two far-right parties. Those parties oppose concessions in ceasefire negotiations with Hamas and have themselves quit or threatened to quit the government over moves to end or even pause the war in Gaza. The political shake-up comes as Israel and Hamas are discussing the terms of a truce for the 21-month war in Gaza. Despite heavy pressure from the United States, Israel's top ally, and mediators Egypt and Qatar, there is no breakthrough yet in the talks. Loading An Israeli Defence Ministry proposal to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a small and largely devastated zone controlled by its military in southern Gaza threatens to derail the latest efforts to forge a truce, The New York Times has reported. A spokesperson for Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, who the Times says first floated the idea last week, declined to comment on the reports, as did Netanyahu's office. Another recurring sticking point has been whether the war ends as part of any truce, and Netanyahu's far-right parties oppose ending the war while Hamas remains intact. United Torah Judaism's departure has a window of 48 hours before becoming official, meaning Netanyahu can still find ways to satisfy the two parties and bring them back into the coalition. But Shuki Friedman, vice president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, said the gaps between the draft law currently on the table and the demands of the parties were still wide, making a compromise unlikely during that time.

‘Confected furore', ‘trust-breaker': Readers debate donation from Jillian Segal's husband
‘Confected furore', ‘trust-breaker': Readers debate donation from Jillian Segal's husband

The Age

time6 hours ago

  • The Age

‘Confected furore', ‘trust-breaker': Readers debate donation from Jillian Segal's husband

To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@ Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. SPECIAL ENVOY Australia's antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, has every right to be appalled by the selective outrage over her husband's donation to the Advance lobby group. Her husband, John Roth, has no capacity in the Australian government. If instead, he had donated money to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the silence of his critics would be deafening. Apparently, Roth has no right to donate to the ″⁣wrong″⁣ cause. It is besides the point anyway. Does anyone seriously believe that Segal's vital work would be compromised by a donation by her husband? Anyone who believes that is effectively saying women have no capacity to form their own, independent opinions. If nothing else, this confected ″⁣furore″⁣ is an embarrassing insult to women everywhere. Jeremy Browne, Ripponlea Loss of trust in Segal's role Jillian Segal's husband gave $50,000 to help fund the Advance lobby group's vision of Australia that is narrow, brittle, and hostile to dissent. She says she had no involvement in the donation, but her role as Australia's special envoy on antisemitism is not just any role. Segal has been entrusted with leading a national conversation about hate, about how we live together, about where the lines of decency and bigotry are drawn. That task demands moral clarity—and public trust. Even if her husband wrote the cheque alone, the proximity matters. Judgment is shaped by what we accept, what we ignore, and what we quietly let pass. This is not a question of guilt. It is a question of trust. And that trust, I'm afraid, is already broken. Nadia Green, Sunshine North Segal must declare views on Advance Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke says in relation to Jillian Segal's husband making donations to the far right organisation Advance that 'claims that she should not be held responsible for her husband's actions are outdated' (″⁣ Burke Slams Advance ″⁣ 15/7). However, just claiming she didn't know is not good enough. We need to hear Jillian Segal herself condemn the racism of the Advance agenda. As a special envoy dealing with racism, such a condemnation is long overdue. To have any credibility in her role she must be unequivocal in condemning all forms of racism, not just antisemitism. Bruce Francis, Brunswick Muslim and Jewish communities need own envoy Your correspondent does not have her facts correct, (Letters ″⁣Another envoy needed″⁣ 15/7. Indigenous Australians have a federal minister representing them in cabinet. This minister has a huge budget and a department of 1200 public servants receiving and seeking and providing advice to the government on the needs for the Indigenous community. The Muslim and Jewish communities now have special separate envoys giving recommendations to the government on how to stop hate speech, incitement and terrorist acts against their respective communities. Ian Fayman, Malvern East Israel does not get special treatment All those who oppose antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal's recommendation to apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism claim the definition prevents or unduly restricts criticism of Israel. However, the definition itself specifically states that 'criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic'. Those complaining about the definition want to criticise Israel in a way they wouldn't criticise any other country. Perhaps they should explain why they want to apply such double standards to the Jewish state. Mark Kessel, Caulfield North THE FORUM Trump's war calendar Re Ukraine war: Donald Trump's ″⁣I will have it solved within one day″⁣ has proven to be a seismic miscalculation, notwithstanding his later comment that his promise was made in″⁣jest″⁣. Now, thankfully (after 175 days in office), he appears to be taking the thrust of his promise seriously. His commitment to supply Ukraine with Patriot missiles for Ukraine's defence and his threats of secondary tariffs on Russia are certainly steps in the right direction. They say a week is a long time in politics. Trump is finding ″⁣a day″⁣ is a long time in warfare and peacemaking. Brian Marshall, Ashburton Men of steel Maureen Dowd (″⁣ Why Donald Trump's good-looking cabinet can't stop making him look bad ″⁣, 15/7) relates how White House staff posted a meme of Donald Trump as the 'Man of Steel″⁣. Perhaps the staff got it unintentionally correct; we 85 year-old or more European immigrants, especially those of us from Eastern Europe, know who the Man of Steel was – the USSR dictator Stalin. Richard Crago, Burwood East

What is the controversial definition of antisemitism that institutions are being told to adopt?
What is the controversial definition of antisemitism that institutions are being told to adopt?

The Age

time7 hours ago

  • The Age

What is the controversial definition of antisemitism that institutions are being told to adopt?

Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal released a plan last week with 49 steps to tackle rising discrimination against Jewish Australians. At the core of the report is a definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which has become a lightning rod for criticism. Segal's recommendation to embed the alliance's definition in all public institutions last week came after a host of antisemitic attacks across Australia this year, including the doors of the East Melbourne synagogue being set alight earlier this month, and children at Jewish schools in Sydney being harassed with calls of 'Heil Hitler'. However, pro-Palestinian and some human rights organisations fear the definition may stifle legitimate criticism of Israel and its government by tying antisemitism to anti-Zionism, limiting the free speech. So what is the definition? How widely used is it? And why has it become controversial? What is the IHRA, and its definition of antisemitism? The alliance was established by the Stockholm International Forum, a series of conferences held between 2000 and 2004, and convened by then-Swedish prime minister Göran Persson. The conferences were held to combat 'the growth of extreme right-wing groups' that were spreading propaganda in schools, and to address a survey of Swedish young people that found knowledge of the Holocaust 'was deficient and that a large number of teenagers were not even certain that it had taken place', according to the Swedish government. There are now 35 member states of IHRA, including Australia, Israel, the UK and the US, all of which adopted a 'non-legally binding working definition' of antisemitism in May 2016. The definition adopted by the alliance states:

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