The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) welcomed the opportunity to make a submission to the Justice and Communities Committee in regard to the inquiry into Antisemitism in NSW. Our organisation is proudly non-sectarian, but within our managing committee there are Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian and Christian people, along with atheists. Our members share a deep commitment to the elimination of all forms of racism, including antisemitism. We believe that responding to antisemitism in our community must be evidence-based, which means it cannot be responded to in isolation of other forms of discrimination.
The NSWCCL is concerned that antisemitism has been weaponised by politicians and the media particularly over the past year. This is done through the incorrect and harmful conflation of Zionism and Judaism. While Judaism is a religion and an ethnicity, Zionism is a modern political movement to establish a Jewish homeland in Israel. Conflating legitimate criticism of Israel with antisemitism at a time when Israel is justifiably being criticised for failing to meet international human rights standards by
the International Court of Justice is dangerous. This not only stifles legitimate political discourse about foreign affairs but also treats Jewish people as having monolithic political beliefs, a view that is itself antisemitic.
