Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has failed to commit to a single recommendation from the Sky News Antisemitism Summit.
A month after the recommendations were first put forward, at the conclusion of the bipartisan summit by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s Co-CEO, Alex Ryvchin, Mr Albanese sent a letter to the organisation where he did not commit to a single suggestion.
Instead, he outlined the measures his government had already taken to combat antisemitism.
The Antisemitism Summit, held on February 20, brought the nation’s brightest minds together to come up with solutions to the crisis in social cohesion that has gripped Australia since October 7, 2023.
The outcomes were formulated with the input of current and former political leaders, law enforcement chiefs, policymakers, legal experts, and Jewish community leaders.
At the time, Mr Ryvchin said: “We are calling for this plan of action to be endorsed by both major parties and independent candidates, and for public institutions and the private sector to work with the community for its implementation.
“In this way, the fight against antisemitism can become a unifying mission.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has committed to implementing every single outcome delivered at the Sky News Antisemitism Summit that falls under the Federal Government Remit.
But in his three-page letter, Mr Albanese did not commit to a single outcome.
Instead, he thanked Mr Ryvchin for his letter, outlined the action his government had taken so far and concluded by saying: “I remain focused on listening to the concerns of Jewish Australian communities and to working across government and with community stakeholders to foster greater social cohesion, greater understanding and inclusion of all Australians.”
Sky News host Sharri Markson said: “It’s incredibly disappointing that Mr Albanese has not endorsed a single one of the tangible solutions developed during our Antisemitism Summit. These recommendations have the ability to create change in the areas where antisemitism is rife and affection national safety and social cohesion.”
The recommendations were across fields of national security, education, the university sector, immigration and social media.
They included:
- Declaration of a National Emergency on antisemitism and establishment of a Joint Counter-Terrorism Taskforce
- Uniform policing guidelines, including training for law enforcement officials on understanding antisemitism and how hate crimes should be prosecuted
- Antisemitism education to be included in the national curriculum
- More public awareness and advertising campaigns, particularly for younger Australians, aimed at debunking the ideology of antisemitism
- National ban on encampments on Australian university campuses, as well as prohibiting the disruption of lectures by protesters
- Creation of a judicial inquiry into antisemitism at universities, which should investigate possible foreign funding of student protests
- Universities to disclose all sources of funding from foreign governments and foundations
- Tougher legislation to overcome restrictions on disciplinary action against academics
- Repeal of charity status and funding from religious and charitable institutions if they promote racism or display terrorist symbols
- Greater scrutiny of the use of funds administered by charities to ensure, for example, that funds are not used to support terrorism
- Immigration officers must be trained to recognise antisemitism, with applicants to be assessed under the character test on whether they have promoted antisemitism
- The Migration Act should be enforced or amended to ensure antisemitic conduct is grounds to reject a new visa, or cancel an existing one
- New social media legislation such as Algorithms Regulation laws should be introduced to counter foreign interference
- For cultural institutions, a condition should be placed on government grants issued to festivals and individuals that recipients do not spread racism, or they risk grant cancellation
- Balance of representation on literary and cultural festival boards, as well as among senior staff tasked with programming decisions
Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson said this was “another example of Anthony Albanese’s weak leadership on community safety and national security.”
“Antisemitism has exploded on Labor’s watch and failing to even respond to the ECAJ Sky News summit shows the Prime Minister’s disregard for the Jewish community,” he said.
“Only a Dutton Coalition has committed to the summit recommendations and would tackle antisemitism to keep all Australians safe.”
