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
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…
Jewish Council’s criticism of Australian universities’ new antisemitism definition covered by The Guardian, Asia Pacific Report and Pearls & Irritations
Sarah Schwartz recently spoke to a range of publications about Australian universities’ new antisemitism definition. An excerpt of Sarah’s comments that were quoted in the Guardian: “This definition risks increasing antisemitism by suggesting that all Jews support the state of Israel, and can be held responsible for Israel’s egregious human rights abuses.” Use the links…
Louise Adler’s latest piece in The Guardian: “From Creative Australia to Sydney writers’ festival, the direct threat facing the arts is coming from within”
Advisory Committee member Louise Adler has a new piece in the Guardian titled “From Creative Australia to Sydney writers’ festival, the direct threat facing the arts is coming from within”. It’s an adapted extract from her essay Culture, Money and Morals in What’s the Big Idea? 34 Ideas for a Better Australia (Australia Institute Press)…
Jewish Council of Australia slams universities’ adoption of dangerous, politicised and unworkable antisemitism definition
[Image credit] Today, Australia’s 39 universities endorsed a dangerous and politicised definition of antisemitism which threatens academic freedom, will have a chilling effect on legitimate criticism of Israel, and risks institutionalising anti-Palestinian racism. They did so without meaningful consultation with Palestinian groups or diverse Jewish groups who are critical of Israel. The Jewish Council of Australia strongly…
Jewish Council supports public interest defence in Victorian anti-vilification legislation
All people have a right to live free of discrimination and vilification and the Jewish Council supports the Victorian government’s commitment to protecting marginalised communities from acts of hatred. The Jewish Council of Australia stands in support of robust civil protections against hate speech while ensuring that criminal laws do not target marginalised communities and…
Sarah Schwartz interviewed by The Sunday Shot
Sarah Schwartz recently appeared on The Sunday Shot for an interview where she discussed the Jewish Council’s mission, Zionism and antisemitism and a range of other topics. Click here to watch the episode on YouTube or use the embedded player below:
