Antisemitism in all its forms is a pernicious violation of human dignity and inimical to the basic principles of human rights, says Amnesty International Australia.
At its core, antisemitism is racism; entrenched prejudice, discrimination and hostility directed at Jewish people because of their identity, beliefs or heritage. It has manifested historically in exclusion, violence, and genocide, most horrifically in the Holocaust, and persists today around the world, in both overt acts and coded rhetoric.
In the wake of World War II and the horrors perpetrated during that period, the international community came together to codify and adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” (Article 1) and that everyone is entitled to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion” (Article 18).
These rights are reaffirmed in core human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which obliges states to protect individuals’ rights to practice their religion freely and to be free from discrimination (Articles 18 and 26). Antisemitism, like all racial discrimination, is an affront to these principles, by targeting Jewish people simply for who they are and what they believe.
To uphold the universality of human rights, we must identify and condemn antisemitism wherever and whenever it occurs. Amnesty International Australia unequivocally condemns the antisemitism that fuelled the attack on Jewish Australians at Bondi beach, and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community at this difficult time, and into the future.
International human rights law establishes the duty of states to protect communities from hate-motivated violence and discrimination. As such, Amnesty Australia supports considered, effective and enduring policy responses to the Bondi attack that seek to address policy failures that may have contributed to its occurrence, and to prevent anything similar happening again.
“Amnesty International supports the goals of the federal and state governments as they seek to confront antisemitism and all forms of racism. Governments, civil society and all levels of community must work together to achieve these goals”, said Sam Klintworth, Amnesty International Australia’s National Director.
“We must also remain vigilant against all forms of racism, including anti-Palestinian racism, racism against Indian communities and the surge of Islamophobia, in the wake of the Bondi attack. All forms of racial hatred are abhorrent and must be confronted.”
Amnesty Australia welcomes the Albanese Government’s proposal to hold social media companies accountable for online breaches of hate speech laws by its users as well as the focus on strengthening hate speech laws. Similarly, we support government responses that confront racial hatred, focus on policy failures and do not encroach on human rights. Early intervention programs, community education efforts and further gun regulation reforms are welcomed.
In addition, Amnesty Australia supports the Jewish Council of Australia’s call on the Federal Government to fully implement the Australian Human Rights Commission’s anti-racism framework, fund cross-cultural community initiatives to help form strong relationships of understanding and solidarity, and to recognise and consult with diverse Jewish voices in the policy process.
However, Amnesty International Australia holds serious concerns over proposals in NSW and Victoria to further restrict the public’s right to protest.
“Governments must ensure that as they act on antisemitism, that fundamental human rights are upheld, and that legislation is constitutionally sound and consistent with long-standing international human rights standards. Amnesty International Australia is concerned that some elements of the legislative response to the antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi would disproportionately restrict the right of citizens to publicly gather in protest, which is an essential and hard-won right, critical to our democracy,” says Ms Klintworth.
“Particularly worrying is that in NSW, the power to deem certain public gatherings unlawful is proposed to sit with the Police Minister, with no capacity for independent review through the courts. Nobody wants to see dangerous or divisive protests in the wake of terror events, but the NSW Government’s well-intentioned effort to prevent this from happening, in its current form, is a serious overstep, and a disproportionate response. Human rights law allows for proportionality, recognising and protecting the need to ensure public safety and order; the NSW proposal goes too far.
“As we look ahead to the new year, we remind state and federal governments that criticism of genocide, war crimes and other human rights abuses committed by nation states does not constitute hate speech. Indeed, we all have a moral duty to speak out against these crimes, wherever they may occur. Furthermore, states are legally obliged to take measures to avoid complicity in these serious breaches of human rights. Governments must not conflate peaceful protest with acts of violence or hate; the latter must be stamped out,” says Ms Klintworth.
Amnesty International Australia urges politicians, the public and community leaders to reject attempts to place blame on entire communities or to use this tragedy to fuel further racism or division. In particular, Muslim and Palestinian communities must not be subject to racism, harassment or discrimination in our parliaments, policy arenas, by police or in public. We must all take a strong, clear, principled position against racism and hate in all its forms, by adopting a considered, comprehensive, evidence-based approach, one that addresses its root causes, and establishes effective and enduring measures to combat racism and hate. All people have a right to live free from discrimination, vilification and violence.
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