Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

Haman’s plot to kill all the Jews in the known world was foiled by Queen Esther and Mordecai. We will be commemorating that at Purim soon. The plot by Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis, proxies of Iran, has been foiled. Sadly, there have been tragic losses along the way, including the Bibas family, which has left Jewish people and their friends worldwide hurting.

Alex Ryvchin and Sharri Markson.

I believe that what we saw at the Antisemitism Summit at the Central Synagogue, hosted by Sharri Markson of Sky News and Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) on 20 February 2025, was an opportunity to strategise to foil the evil plot of those who would wipe out Australian Jews as well. Rabbi Levi Wolff, Chief Minister of the Central Synagogue, opened the event.

Make no mistake about it. There is a genocidal intent behind some of these perpetrators of antisemitism in Australia, and we saw that with the Bankstown nurses’ rant that they would kill Jews and have killed Jews. Most Muslim organisations in Australia have supported rather than condemned them. The nurses have lost their jobs, but have not yet been charged.

Shining a Light

Sharri Markson said we must not accept antisemitism as “our new reality”. She recognised Sky News’ role:

“I want to thank my employers – Sky News chief executive Paul Whittaker and head of programs Mark Calvert have shown unwavering commitment to this cause, going above and beyond to make today possible, and for putting, and I’m so proud of this, for putting our station at the forefront of tackling antisemitism.”

She continued,

“In a world that’s grown increasingly unrecognisable for so many of us, there’s only one media organisation that has consistently pushed back, leading with unparalleled moral clarity that is entirely thanks to Rupert, Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch’s incredible leadership.”

Current and former political leaders such as Peter Dutton, Chris Minns, Mark Dreyfus and John Howard, law enforcement chiefs, national security experts, legal experts, Jewish community leaders, Holocaust survivors, and Ambassador of the State of Israel to Australia, Amir Maimon, came together for a stellar cast of speakers.

Rabbi Wolff opening the Antisemitism Summit.

The standing ovations for Dutton, Minns, Howard, Markson and Ryvchin were resounding, as were the boos for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who tried to defend the Albanese government’s record, saying that news coverage of antisemitism was divisive and politicised. This was not necessarily a partisan response, as Chris Minns represents New South Wales Labor, while Dreyfus represents federal Labor.

Former Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo said that a declaration should be made that antisemitism is a national emergency. This was reaffirmed by Ryvchin afterwards, as he said we need a Declaration of a National Emergency and establishment of a Joint Counter-Terrorism Task Force.

NSW Deputy Police Commissioner David Hudson said 13 people had been arrested since the creation of Strike Force Pearl to deal with antisemitism. There was agreement among speakers, including David Ossip, President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, and three Holocaust survivors, that laws need to be tougher.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said he was ashamed that what happened at the Sydney Opera House happened on his watch, but that “if the laws didn’t allow for proper prosecution, then we must change the laws.”

Ambassador Amir Maimon said when he went to Israel, he was asked, “What’s happening in Australia?” He said Australia was making headlines for all the wrong reasons and reminded us of the story of William Cooper and the Australian Aborigines League, who protested Kristallnacht to the German Consulate in 1938, and how the Israel and German embassies recently honoured his memory on 6 December with a plaque.

John Howard and Sharri Markson.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said if in government, he would make antisemitism grounds for rejecting new visa applications and cancelling visas. He would amend the Migration Act if needed.

Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal said that there needed to be a national intelligence centre and more investigations into foreign influence on antisemitism in Australia. This followed comments the day before by ASIO Director Mike Burgess that attempts by overseas actors to kill Australians had been foiled. Also, antisemitic attacks in Australia had not yet plateaued, as Jews had been conflated with Israel, and pro-Palestinian calls had become “kill the Jews” calls.

National Strategy

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg called it a pivotal moment for Australia that is the responsibility of all Australians, and spoke of the newly created Dor Foundation he had set up to deal with antisemitism.

Former Catholic University Chancellor Greg Craven said if he were a Vice-Chancellor, he would “break up every hateful occupation or demonstration”, involve police and take disciplinary action against students.

A number of speakers outlined the need for antisemitism education in schools, and I’m pleased that Indigenous Friends of Israel International is developing such a program from Grade 1 to Grade 10 that fits in with the national curriculum in history and civics. We are ready to pilot this with teachers and schools interested.

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of ECAJ, outlined a 15-point plan as part of a national strategy to deal with the scourge of antisemitism. Seven categories were covered: national security, education, universities, preachers and charities that spread hate, the Migration Act and citizenship, social media, and cultural institutions.

These are – a declaration of National Emergency on Antisemitism and set up of a Joint Counter-Terrorism Taskforce, uniform policing guidelines including training for law enforcement officials to understand antisemitism and how hate crimes should be prosecuted, public awareness campaigns, antisemitism education to be in the national curriculum, national ban on encampments at universities and disruption of lectures, a judicial inquiry into antisemitism on universities including foreign influence, tougher legislation to enable disciplinary action against academics, repeal of charity status for those who promote racism or display terror symbols, scrutiny of charities to see funds are not used for terrorism, training of immigration officers to recognise antisemitism with the character test used regarding antisemitism, amendment of the Migration Act to ensure antisemitism is grounds to reject or cancel a visa, social media legislation to counter foreign interference, government grants to cultural institutions not to be used to spread racism, and a balance of representation on literary and cultural festival boards and senior staff.

Norman and Barbara Miller at Antisemitism Summit.

The Summit gave us strategies and an action plan to deal with this evil plot against Australian Jewish families and the attempt to undermine the Judeo-Christian and democratic values on which Australian society is based. This is a civilisational issue and an issue for our survival as a socially cohesive and functioning nation.

___

Painting: François-Léon Benouville, “Esther” (1844)/Wikimedia Commons