NSWCCL and Liberty Victoria advance four core propositions in our submission to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. .
First, antisemitism is one form of racism and religious intolerance experienced by minority groups in Australia and must be addressed. However, it should not be treated in isolation or elevated above other damaging and pervasive forms of racism and religious intolerance. Antisemitism must be tackled as part of, and not separately to, a broader effort to tackle racism and religious intolerance in Australia.
Second, racism and religious intolerance are complex societal issues that require nuanced solutions. We cannot police or legislate our way to tolerance, respect, or social cohesion. The horrific violence at Bondi, and other instances of hatred based on racism and religious intolerance, demand evidence-based responses that focus on preventative approaches to address drivers of racism.
Third, Liberty Victoria and NSWCCL urge the Royal Commission to take an approach to tackling antisemitism and strengthening social cohesion that is grounded in principles of universal human rights and respect for civil liberties. In particular, we encourage the Royal Commission to focus its recommendations on proactively promoting a vibrant and dynamic democratic society, in which people are encouraged to exchange ideas and participate in robust discussion, debate and protest. Vitally, any restriction on democratic freedoms and human rights should only be recommended where there is a transparent evidence base as justification, and where such restrictions represent the minimum possible intrusion on rights to bring about the stated aims. In particular:
- We urge the Royal Commission to protect the right to protest and free political communication, as fundamental democratic rights. Protest can encompass activities that cause disruption and make some people feel uncomfortable or challenged, and those activities must be protected.
- We caution against the Royal Commission making recommendations which focus on expanding censorship and surveillance, restricting lawful protest and political speech, and expanding the criminal law.
Fourth, and relatedly, we urge the Royal Commission to not adopt purported solutions to antisemitism which would have unjustified consequences for human rights and civil liberties in Australia and create further division. Indeed, the adoption of some of the proposed responses to the Bondi massacre would not only be unlikely to address drivers of violence but would also likely increase intolerance and drive hatred against minority groups.
In that regard, we are greatly troubled by the conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Israel or Zionism. We oppose the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism on the basis that doing so would have an unjustified and improper chilling effect on freedom of expression and protest rights, including that it would be likely to impede legitimate criticism of Israel and/or the political ideology of Zionism.
This submission will focus on the following issues in the terms of reference:
1. Tackling antisemitism by identifying any opportunities to enhance the responses of governments to antisemitism including, but not limited to, best practice approaches to de-radicalisation and strengthening social cohesion;
2. Tackling antisemitism by making recommendations to counteract and prevent manifestations of antisemitism; and
3. Contributing to strengthening social cohesion in Australia and countering the spread of ideologically and religiously motivated extremism in Australia.
Read our full submission.
