Govt to consider all recommendations of anti-semitism report, Prime Minister Albanese says

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Jillian Segal has recommended stripping funding where possible from broadcasters, universities and arts institutions who fail to fight anti-semitism.

Transcript

00:00Gillian Siegel, the anti-Semitism envoy, has described this report as not a symbolic document,

00:07but an action plan. She clearly sees this as laying out specific recommendations, specific

00:13steps that can be taken by governments, federal, state, local and other cultural institutions

00:19and other bodies to tackle the issue of anti-Semitism in Australia. And she clearly would like to

00:24see many of these acted upon. I'll take you through just some of the recommendations that

00:29have been made. She sets out 13 of what she calls strategic focus areas with a set of

00:33recommendations under each. They go to things like defining anti-Semitism, having that definition

00:39being broadly adopted. She wants to see the International Holocaust Remembrance Association's

00:44specific definition of anti-Semitism adopted, which is partly that anti-Semitism is a certain

00:51perception of Jews, which may be expressed as a hatred towards Jews. She wants stronger

00:55anti-vilification laws put in place as well. This echoes calls from other Jewish lobby groups,

01:01as well as people like independent MP Allegra Spender, who've seen, who've argued that there

01:05is a loophole in place in current anti-vilification laws, that they're just not quite strong enough.

01:11Others are quite contentious. They would certainly spark significant public debate. Things like

01:16withholding public funding from universities if they're seen to be failing to act upon the issue

01:21of anti-Semitism within their campuses. Advocating for the government to screen visa applicants for

01:28anti-Semitic views or affiliations. Building anti-Semitism into the education curriculum as

01:33well in a stronger way. Not just teaching the Holocaust, but teaching other issues of Jewish

01:38culture and identity too, as something she clearly wants to see acted upon, within both primary and

01:44secondary schools as well. So clearly, a mixture of recommendations here. Some would be relatively simple

01:49to adopt, are uncontentious. Others would be much more difficult, much more complex and clearly quite

01:55contentious. The plan today builds on a foundation of actions. It brings structure though, priorities

02:02and accountability to our national response. And it's not a symbolic document, it's an action plan.

02:07And it addresses anti-Semitism in many places. In our laws, classrooms, universities, media, workplaces,

02:17online spaces and public institutions. And it calls on government and societal leaders to support the

02:24initiatives. Tom, Gillian Siegel was quite careful to refer to this as a plan rather than recommendations

02:32or a report. She was obviously standing alongside the Prime Minister. How much of this plan will be

02:39adopted by the Prime Minister? Look, that remains to be seen. The Prime Minister was quite careful to say

02:44that this is a significant, a substantial document that he clearly supports the intent and the ambition

02:50of, though he was careful not to immediately adopt any of these suggestions from Gillian Siegel,

02:55saying they do require careful consideration. Some, he pointed out, are relatively simple.

03:00Others would be challenging. And not just issues for the federal government, he made the point,

03:04but for state governments, local governments and other bodies as well. He made clear that this

03:10also isn't a situation where you can simply pass a piece of legislation and be done with it.

03:14Anti-Semitism is a more complex problem, he says, than that. This is something that will have to be

03:19worked upon, not just by the federal government, but by others as well, for a significant period of

03:25time. He did tackle questions around how this would sit alongside legitimate public criticism

03:31of the government of Israel, particularly its approach to the conflict in Gaza and elsewhere in the

03:36Middle East. Can these recommendations be adopted? And can that legitimate criticism,

03:41that public commentary around Israel continue? And he said, absolutely, yes. That is something that

03:46he's done in the past. He's been quite critical of Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,

03:51and his administration and its approach to the war at various occasions over the past 12 months,

03:56two years or so, alongside other world leaders too. That commentary can happen,

04:00that criticism can take place without being anti-Semitic. Here's a bit of what he had to say

04:04on that specific issue. Regarding legitimate criticism of Israel, as you'd be aware, I have

04:12released statements with other leaders that have been critical of the actions of the Netanyahu

04:19government. I will continue to put forward a position that is consistent with the position that

04:30we have taken on the Middle East. But you can put forward those views respectfully.

04:39He was also asked about protests, and many Australian cities have seen regular demonstrations

04:44around the conflict in Gaza for quite some time now, weekly protests, and whether those had any role

04:50in fuelling anti-Semitism. And Anthony Albanese was very clear that Australians have a right to protest

04:56as a liberal democracy, both on issues domestic and international, and of course, on issues like

05:02the conflict in Gaza. He said that should absolutely continue, but should be done respectfully and

05:07without damaging the cause those protests are seeking to push.

05:10Julie athlete Tippmann and University of Minnesota.

05:14Okay, now we're on the way, where do you see a lot of workers?

05:18Good for me.

05:22I've been the first one for the war for the war and a half are the low importance of

05:25and that it is.

05:29I think that is so important

05:34because this has made me know who the Smile reports

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