Ms Jillian Segal, special Envoy for the federal Govt on AntiSemitism handed Albanese her report with recommendations yesterday.
while I agree the antisemitic attacks on Aus Jewish people in intolerable, we also need to consider that Muslims have been similarly attacked for years. this is not to detract from attacks on Jews but to mention the bias of this report.
the bias has been evident since Israel abandoned all sense of proportion and launched a apparently deliberate genocide against people in Gaza. Since this time Israel has used antisemitism as their defence against any (I mean ANY) criticism of Israeli attacks, destruction of medical facilities and deliberate attacks on unarmed, non-militia, ordinary people, including frail aged, children and other non-combatants. even firing live rounds at people lining up in desperate hunger for food aid and killing starving people simply for attending the Aid-trap.....
it is NOT antisemitic to sensibly criticise Israel, yet this is what all criticisms have been tagged as.
Segal now wants "powers" to "monitor" ABC and SBS - for what reason other than censoring freely available news on Israel.
Segal wants to be able to withdraw funding from UNIVERSITIES where protests occur.... and ALL other Govt institutions and orgs that receive Govt funding.
But that needs to be done with caution. We don’t want to create an environment in which any criticism of a community or group is shut down by regulation.
In a democracy, open and robust debate is essential. The challenge lies in the details: how we define hate, and where we draw the threshold for what counts as hate.
The document ignores the elephant in the room: whether the plan could be used to silence legitimate criticism of Israel.
The special envoy’s plan notes antisemitism has risen since October 7, but it does not fully explain the context. Israel’s military response in Gaza, which has killedmore than 57,000Palestinians, has prompted a wave of global protest and criticism of Israel, includingaccusationsof genocide.
In this context, the line between antisemitism and criticism of Israel has become more difficult and contested than ever. Some people who attack Israel orZionismmay be expressing antisemitic views. Others may not. Distinguishing between the two is complex, but essential.
The Conversation LINKin short Segal wants to control "free speech". she want the authority to ban criticism of Israel.
yet critics isn't antisemitic. this report places ridiculous and dictatorial controls and punishments for free speech.
in addition, but separate, I do not support Hamas, I condemn the Oct 7 attacks, just as I condemn Israeli actions to genocide.
