Jewish Council of Australia news & media
We aim to work with media personnel, politicians, and policymakers to provide expert Jewish voices on issues of antisemitism in Australia
MEDIA ALERT: Jewish Council executives to make submission toNSW antisemitism inquiry
What:The Jewish Council of Australia will make a submission to the first hearing of the NSW Legislative Council’s Portfolio Committee No. 5 inquiry into antisemitism in New South Wales. The hearing will receive submissions from groups and individuals relating to the prevalence of antisemitic incidents in New South Wales, antisemitism on university campuses, and the…
Antony Loewenstein speaks to ABC about which countries are selling arms to Israel
Advisory Committee member Antony Loewenstein recently spoke to ABC Radio National for an episode titled Which countries are selling arms to Israel? An excerpt from the episode’s description: A new report by Progressive International reveals the scale of UK arms exports to Israel. Meanwhile, Declassified Australia has confirmed Canberra-based company Electro Optic Systems has been…
Re-elected Albanese government must condemn Israel’s brutality and cut ties
On May 5, the Israeli Parliament approved plans to annex and occupy Gaza. These plans have been discussed for months. This is a blatant mission to ethnically cleanse Gaza, advancing Israel’s colonial intentions to take over the territory and rid it of Palestinians. For the past 19-months Israel has acted with extraordinary brutality, carrying out…
Sarah Schwartz talks to SBS News: “How war in the Middle East could shape the federal election”
Executive Officer Sarah Schwartz recently spoke to SBS News for a story titled How war in the Middle East could shape the federal election. An excerpt of her comments: I think it’s really dangerous to flatten any community and to say that an entire community holds a particular political view in support of Israel, particularly…
Jewish Council slams Dutton for stoking racist culture war, making all of us less safe
The Jewish Council has condemned Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for picking up neo-Nazi talking points, after he said yesterday he did not believe Anzac Day dawn services warranted a Welcome to Country. Dutton’s remarks followed the removal of prominent neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant from Melbourne’s Anzac Day dawn service on Friday, for heckling during a Bunurong elder’s…
Oscar-winning film screening cancelled after threats, complaints to Melbourne cinema
A screening organised by and for a Jewish audience of the Academy Award-winning film No Other Land at Classic Cinemas Elsternwick was cancelled late on Wednesday, after management said it had received 20 threats and complaints in one day and been warned about protests planned for the evening of the event. The film, which won the 2025…
Ohad Kozminsky piece in The Jewish Independent: “Why we are holding an anti-Zionist Palestine Solidarity Seder”
Executive Member Ohad Kozminsky has recently had a piece published in The Jewish Independent titled Why we are holding an anti-Zionist Palestine Solidarity Seder. An excerpt from the opening is below: We can interpret the requirement to teach our children that we were slaves as an imperative to fight oppression wherever we see it. Click…
Louise Adler speaks at public forum event “Who’s Afraid of Khaled Sabsabi?”
Advisory Committee member Louise Adler recently spoke at public forum event titled Who’s Afraid of Khaled Sabsabi? It was a panel discussion at the Greek Centre in Melbourne in response to recent institutional decisions affecting the artist Khaled Sabsabi. Click here to watch the event on the Memo website.
The Australian government must show moral leadership and urgently support Palestinians fleeing Israel’s genocide
With full blessings and support from the United States, and lack of concrete action from its allies like Australia, Israel is escalating its genocidal war in Gaza at an unprecedented scale. Overnight, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed 32 men, women, and children. This follows news last week that Israeli forces executed 15 aid and emergency workers in Gaza, killing…
Sarah Schwartz speaks to The Guardian about Labor preferencing the Greens last in Macnamara
Executive Officer Sarah Schwartz recently spoke to The Guardian for a story titled Jewish leaders unhappy at decision to block Greens candidate from Melbourne community forum. An excerpt from her comments: Like any community, the Jewish community has diverse political views. It does an incredible disservice to Jews and to our community not to recognise…
The Jewish Council joins six other Jewish organisations in calling for sanctions against the State of Israel
[Image credit] The Jewish Council of Australia has issued a joint statement with six other groups, opposing Israel’s decision to resume the horrific bombardment of Gaza and calling on the Australian government to impose sanctions on the state of Israel. In a sign of growing community support, the statement was signed by seven Australian Jewish groups: On…
Na’ama Carlin on The Wire discussing Australian universities’ adoption of a working definition of antisemitism
Executive Member Dr Na’ama Carlin recently spoke to The Wire for a story titled Definition of antisemitism in universities a concern. Click here to listen to the segment.
Sarah Schwartz speaks to The Guardian about the Coalition’s proposal to include antisemitism questions in Australia’s citizenship test
I think Peter Dutton and the Coalition are clearly trying to use the Jewish community and very real fears about rises in antisemitism to push their own anti-immigrant agenda. Click here to read the full piece.
Academic freedom and censorship at our universities: Make your voice heard!
[Image credit] Dear Supporters and friends, As we watch Israel’s renewed bombardment of Gaza with a sense of helplessness and grief, there is a concrete action we can take. To the many of you who are students, staff and alumni of Australian universities, we need your help! (And to make helping easy, we’ve included Jewish and…
UN Report reveals Israel’s systematic use of gender-based violence
Today the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (the Commission) submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council. The Commission’s report, ‘More than a human can bear’: Israel’s systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence since 7 October 2023, accuses Israel of genocidal…
Louise Adler speaks to ABC Radio National about money and morals in Australian cultural organisations
Advisory Committee Louise Adler recently spoke to to ABC Radio National for a segment titled Louise Adler on money and morals in Australian cultural organisations, “urging arts leaders to take risks and push back against entitled donors, in defence of their artists’ work”. Click here to listen to the full episode on the ABC website.
Max Kaiser speaks to Muslim Votes Matter about antisemitism and the Australian Jewish community
Max Kaiser recently spoke to to Muslim Votes Matter about antisemitism and the Australian Jewish community. Click here to watch the interview on YouTube or use the video player below:
Sarah Schwartz speaks to AFR about the recent police statements about the Dural explosives caravan
Sarah Schwartz recently spoke to the Australian Financial Review for a piece titled “Jewish community queries police on ‘bizarre’ antisemitic incidents”. Click here to read the piece (requires AFR subscription).
Police confirmation of ‘fabricated terrorism plot’ shows the need to stop exploiting antisemitism
Yesterday, the Australian Federal Police confirmed that the incident in January in which a caravan was found with explosives was part of a ‘fabricated terrorism plot’ orchestrated by organised crime. This comes as other antisemitic incidents have also been linked to organised crime and foreign actors. These incidents have caused fear and panic amongst many in the Jewish community…
The Jewish Council condemns ‘Christchurch 2.0’ threat to Sydney mosque
The Jewish Council of Australia strongly condemns comments made on the Instagram page of a mosque in western Sydney, threatening ‘Christchurch 2.0’. This threat is part of a broader trend of Islamophobia and rising far-right extremism and white supremacist organising in Australia which places the safety of all racialised groups at risk. The threat, made…
