30 June 2016

AIJAC Condemns Mosque Attacks

30 June 2016

Every Australian should be alarmed by the two recent anti-Islamic hate crimes near Perth. These deplorable incidents included the firebombing of a vehicle and spray-painting vile graffiti outside a mosque at an Islamic school and the placement of a pig's head outside another mosque.

However, Australia's Jewish community, which has itself been the target of periodic antiisemitic attacks, particularly empathises with the victims of such hate crimes.

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council condemns these attacks in the strongest terms possible, expresses our support to the Muslim community in the face of these heinous attacks and wishes law enforcement agencies every success in their efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Dr Colin Rubenstein

Executive Director,

Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council

29 June 2016

Jewish Community Council of WA condemns attack on Mosque in Thornlie

29 June 2016

The Jewish Community Council of Western Australia expresses its total abhorrence at the nonsensical and violent act of vandalism and anti-Islam graffiti carried out at the Australian Islamist College and Mosque in Thornlie. We are gratified that no injuries occurred.

We, as the Jewish community of Western Australia, support and encourage the harmonious and respectful relationships between not only our fellow West Australians of the Islamic faith but of all Western Australians, of whatever religion or background.

Any group or individuals who attempt to undermine the harmony and unity of West Australian society are trying to damage the very fabric of the multi-culturalism of Western Australia. They should be dealt with to the full extent of the law.

Federal Election 2016 candidates meet Jewish Community Council WA respresentatives

Last Thursday Coalition WA Senator Dean Smith brought Attorney–General Senator George Brandis, Liberal candidate for Perth Jeremy Quinn, State MLC Peter Katsambanis and Liberal candidate for Cowan Craig Buchanan to meet with JCCWA members at a cordial afternoon tea in the Maurice Zeffert Home main hall. Senator Brandis gave a comprehensive address which covered the topics of interest to the Jewish community. Many thanks to Michael Preece, CEO of MZH, for hosting this function.

And on Monday evening at the Jewish Centre Perth ALP candidate Tim Hammond had an intense and friendly round table meeting with JCCWA members which centred around similar topics.

Many questions were put to party representatives covering areas of interest including communal security, education funding, religious freedom, racial vilification, Australia–Israel relations and recognition of a Palestinian state.

It must be said that both major parties were solidly committed to financially helping the Perth Jewish community secure its people and institutions and were open to approaches by our community after the election to improve our security measures.

On all other matters there was a bi-partisan expression of support and affection for the Jewish community, and the State of Israel. Both parties have promised to increase funding for independent schools, including Jewish schools, and they both have stated that they do not support repeal or amendment of sections 18C and 18D of the Racial Discrimination Act. Each party supports greater bilateral relations between Israel and Australia at all levels and completely reject the BDS campaign against Israel. Both parties favour maintaining existing laws regarding kosher slaughter of animals and they are both in favour of religious ministers deciding for themselves whether they wish to solemnize any marriage.

With regard to Palestinian statehood the Coalition rejects recognition of a Palestinian state other than in the context of a negotiated peace agreement with Israel. Tim Hammond for the ALP maintains the Labor position is identical although he acknowledges that a resolution was passed at last year’s ALP conference to consider recognizing a Palestinian state if the next negotiations fail to produce a two state solution. He is confident that if in government, such ALP action is highly unlikely to eventuate.

The JCCWA greatly appreciates the parties’ willingness to engage with the Jewish community and thanks all members who attended the meetings.

Further information on political parties’ positions on matters of interest to the Jewish community in Australia is available on the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s website, www.ecaj.org.au, where their responses to an ECAJ questionnaire are published.

DAVID DENVER

President

Jewish Community Council of WA

Coalition Response to the Jewish Community Council 2016 Election Questionnaire

The Liberal & National Parties' Coalition has responded to the Jewish Community Council's 2016 Election Questionnaire.

Follow this link to read the response.

23 June 2016

Response to the Election Questionnaire, from Elizabeth Re, National Party

The following is the response to the Jewish Community Council Questionnaire, received from Elizabeth Re, candidate for the Senate representing WA, endorsed by the National Party.

1. Safety and Security

The Jewish Community is increasingly concerned about the safety and security of community members and assets. (Refer to Appendix 1 – Jewish Community Security.)

Do you envisage any changes to government support and funding of Jewish-community security? If so, what changes?

Personally, I would hope that as part of the overall safety of all of our schools and communities that governments realize the need to improve security measurers’ city wide as all children are Australia’s future assets

2. Private Schools

Do you envisage making changes to government funding of our Private Schools? If so, what changes?

My parents, my children and I all attended private schooling and appreciate and value the moral and cultural identity that this education system encourages and offers in the community. Private schools actually save the state money and have a history of producing well rounded students who achieve in adulthood

3. Religious Freedom

Observance of the Jewish religion and customs include the ritual circumcision (“brit milah”) of male children at the age of 8 days, and observing Jewish dietary laws (eating food that is rabbinically-certified as kosher). Do you envisage making changes to any of the following? If so, what changes?

· regulation of brit milah

· regulation of kosher slaughter (“shechita”)

· regulation of kosher certification

Personally, I do not believe that any changes are necessary, and as a health inspector who worked in disease control for many years I am very supportive of the circumcision

Eating kosher food is a cultural choice which I do not have an issue with or see that it needs to be changed

4. Israel

Our community overwhelmingly supports Zionism as the modern political movement for the self-determination of the Jewish people; and Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.

Do you support those notions?

Personally I believe people should retain their cultural identity as it makes Australia stronger and richer and persecuted people should be liberated

Do you support the strengthening and enhancement of government-to-government and people-to-people ties between Australians and Israelis at all levels, including trade/economic, academic and cultural ties?

Australia may be an island, but we need to engage in trade with all nations in order to prosper and move forward in this rapidly changing world

Do you consider Australian-media reporting on Israel to be fair and unbiased? If not, would you take any specific action or make any statements to promote fair, unbiased reporting?

Personally I believe the media is biased against many issues and races and I consider that the media needs to be taken to task to promote journalism and not gutter press

Arab leaders have created a culture of death that motivates terrorism. (Refer to Appendix 2 – Incitement to Terror.) Do you consider that Australia could make a practical difference, especially considering that about a third of the Palestinian Authority’s budget is financed by foreign aid?

Exploitation of children and terrorism can never be condoned or ignored and foreign aid should come with a balance sheet on what the money has been spent on and if a satisfactory answer is not provided then aid should be withdrawn or reduced if proof is not provided that the money is used for the intended purpose

5. Global Antisemitism

There is a global campaign to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist, including a “Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which is aimed at destroying Israel, in the guise of promoting peace between Israel and its neighbours. (Refer to Appendix 4 – The BDS Campaign.) Will you take any action or make any statements to stop this hateful campaign in Australia and globally?

The “Durban Strategy”, like many other strategies that have been collectively agreed to in recent years have not been founded on significant evidence or modeling and most are a byproduct of someone trying to get a notch on their belt and should be treated accordingly

6. Antisemitism in Australia

Our community has a high degree of concern about the influence, in Australia, of anti-Israel and anti-Zionist movements such as the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign and other forms of de-legitimisation of Israel and the cover they provide for anti-Semites to express their hatred. Do you envisage taking any action in relation to any of the following? If so, what action?

·         Legal protections against promotion of racial hatred and of racially-motivated violence.
·         Sections 18C and 18D of the Racial Discrimination Act.
·         The activities of radical preachers in schools and religious institutions.
·         Public and school education campaigns against violent and/or extremist ideologies.

Schools, communities and educational establishments exist to foster and promote innovation etc, education and role modeling for future generations and also learning from history to go forward, anything that promotes disunity, promotes violence, promotes hatred, and promotes violence I personally believe should not be permitted and legislation is paramount to ensure good citizen values are not compromised

7. Relations with Iran

Iran continues to contravene its international obligations and remains the greatest state sponsor of global terrorism. (Refer to Appendix 5 – Iran: a Rogue State.)

Do you envisage making any changes to the following, without prior public consultation?

· additional diplomatic representation of Iran in Australia
· further relaxation of sanctions and expansion of trade

Personally I believe that Australia needs to be stronger and set up policies and legislation to reflect the sentiments of Australians that we do not condone or support terrorism in any form

Response to the Election Questionnaire, from Dean Smith, Liberal Senator for Western Australia

The following is the response to the Jewish Community Council Questionnaire, received from Dean Smith, Liberal Senator for Western Australia

23 June 2016

Mr Steve Lieblich

Director of Public Affairs
Jewish Community Council of Western Australia

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your questionnaire addressing issues which are of interest to WA’s Jewish community.

I understand the Liberal Party’s Federal Secretariat will be responding to you directly to set out the Government’s position on the issues you have raised.

However, given my long-held personal support for Israel and commitment to working with WA’s Jewish community, I did want to provide you with some personal observations.

I have been privileged to travel to Israel on several occasions, the most recent being last year, when I travelled as part of a delegation organised by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs council.

During that visit, I was enormously grateful for the opportunity visit the Knesset to meet Israeli parliamentarians, and also to travel to Ramallah to see first-hand on the border with Gaza the threatening conditions that some Israeli families endure on a day to day basis.

It is impossible to overstate just how valuable it is to learn more about the challenges faced by Israel from those directly involved in the day-to-day work involved in maintaining the nation’s security. No one who makes such a visit can walk away unaffected by it.

Of course, it also broadened my appreciation for the need to ensure the safety and security of our own Jewish community facilities here in Australia.

I was also proud to speak in November last year at the Peace Rally organised in Perth, to stand up against the ongoing campaign of violence and murder being waged against innocent Israeli citizens by terrorists, and whose who harbour, fund and otherwise support them.

No Australian of good conscience could possibly hold sympathy with, or defend, the outrageous behaviour of some Palestinian clerics, who actively encourage their followers to murder Jews at random on the streets of Afula, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

All Australians should be appalled by the words of Palestinian President Abbas – a self-proclaimed ‘moderate’ – who has told his people that “every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem is pure”, and said that murderers will be “rewarded by God”.

No Australian should accept a situation where new generations of Palestinians are having their minds poisoned through vile, anti-Semitic propaganda campaigns, which simply make the already difficult goal of peace even more unlikely.

Australia has always been a staunch supporter of Israel, because the values for which Israel stands – personal freedom and democracy above all else – are also the values for which Australia stands, and which Australians have fought and died to protect for generations.

Likewise, I find it personally distressing that there are some political representatives (albeit a small number) who feel it is appropriate to show public support for the disgraceful ‘Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions’ (BDS) campaign by promoting or taking part in pickets at businesses owned by Jewish Australians.

The BDS campaign is an appalling display of anti-Semitism, and all parliamentarians should be prepared to condemn it on that basis.

Whatever people’s disagreements, there is no excuse for the violence, intimidation or disrespect towards Jewish people that the BDS campaign has actively encouraged.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to place my views on the record. It is genuinely appreciated.

Kind regards

Dean Smith

Response to the Election Questionnaire, from Dr Bill Leadbetter, Labor for Hasluck

The following is the response to the Jewish Community Council Questionnaire, received from Dr Bill Leadbetter, Labor for Hasluck.
1. Safety and Security

The Jewish Community is increasingly concerned about the safety and security of community members and assets. (Refer to Appendix 1 – Jewish Community Security.)

Do you envisage any changes to government support and funding of Jewish-community security? If so, what changes?

The Jewish community has a legitimate concern about the safety and security of its members and institutions. I have seen Australian synagogues defaced with vile graffiti; I can remember the concern when Central Synagogue in Sydney burned down in 1994 that it had been arson and not (as proved subsequently) an electrical fault. I have been privileged to teach, meet with and know the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. It is a disgrace that any racial, religious or ethnic group in Australia has a need to feel concern about the physical safety and well-being of its community. If and where it can be shown that members of the Jewish community face concerns for their safety and security I commit to working with existing law enforcement to ensure the community's protection. I also commit to assisting and advocating for increased government aid for necessary security infrastructure, particularly around sites like synagogues and schools

2. Private Schools

Do you envisage making changes to government funding of our Private Schools? If so, what changes?

My position on this is consistent with the Labor Party position on school funding, both private and public

3. Religious Freedom

· regulation of brit milah

· regulation of kosher slaughter (“shechita”)

· regulation of kosher certification

I have very firm religious convictions of my own. When I lived in NSW, they led me to involvement in the NSW Council of Christians and Jews, which I chaired for two years and of which I was also President. I believe in a co-existence that goes beyond mere tolerance but is founded in mutual respect. That includes the practice of brit milah and respect for dietary laws, so, I do not envision supporting any changes to these practices. I believe in the freedom to practise one's own religion and culture within the law, and would not support any changes in those areas.

4. Israel

Our community overwhelmingly supports Zionism as the modern political movement for the self-determination of the Jewish people; and Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.

Do you support those notions?

I've visited Israel four times, the majority of which in my capacity as a historian and a scholar of the Holocaust. If there's one thing I learned from my career researching and teaching the single greatest crime in human history, it is that the Jewish people need a homeland, a nation of their own, in which they are secure and through which they are in control of their own future.

I couldn't be stronger in my support for Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people. That is it's very purpose

Simply put – yes, I do.

Do you consider Australian-media reporting on Israel to be fair and unbiased? If not, would you take any specific action or make any statements to promote fair, unbiased reporting?

There are two kinds of anti-Israel bias that I would argue exist within the Australian media and their reporting of events in the Middle East.

Firstly, there is the explicit anti-Israel bias of certain reporters and outlets, whose journalism contains such errors of fact and such distortions that it can only be deliberate. Far too often the ABC will fall into this trap, particularly their Middle East reporter Sophie O'Neill.

Second, and much more widespread, is the implicit and often unknowing bias demonstrated against Israel by commercial news outlets in Australia, I say unknowing, because many of the errors propagated by these outlets are simply repetitions of claims and errors made elsewhere – often internationally. Under pressure of timelines, diminished resources and research capacities, many journalists and newsrooms today do not have a deliberate bias against the Jewish state but are merely repeating a prevailing narrative.

I don't believe that journalists or news media organisations take their cues on journalistic tone or content from politicians. However, what I can and will do as a member of Parliament is to promote the truth about Israel and Middle East, whether that be through speeches, interviews, media comment generally or my own political material.

Arab leaders have created a culture of death that motivates terrorism. (Refer to Appendix 2 – Incitement to Terror.) Do you consider that Australia could make a practical difference, especially considering that about a third of the Palestinian Authority’s budget is financed by foreign aid?

The Palestinian people are the highest recipients of UN aid, per capita, of any people group anywhere in the world. The United Nations Relief Works Agency is set up solely to service the Palestinian people – no other people group on earth has a UN agency devoted entirely to them. Despite this, most Palestinians languish in poverty and lack basic educational, health and economic opportunities.
The predominant reason for this is the corruption, misappropriation and rhetoric of the Palestinian leadership. Many if not most of the leaders of Fatah and Hamas are not friends of the poor – they are, rather, friends of poverty.Australian aid money should never be knowingly spent on corrupt activity, much less be allowed to be siphoned into violent activity. Hamas in particular has been credibly shown to have appropriated international aid money for weapons purchases and the building of terrorist infrastructure; in the process, a good many of UNRWA's staff and facilities have been co-opted into the attempt by Hamas to murder Israeli civilians and attack Israeli communities. While there is, sadly, a limit to the influence Australia has within the UN, I would strongly support withdrawing any aid that can be shown to have been used in this way (be it within the Middle East or in any other context).

There have been calls for unilateral recognition of a “Palestinian” State that does not yet exist. (Refer to Appendix 3 – Unilateral Recognition of a “Palestinian State”.) Will you take any action to oppose Australian recognition of such a unilateral declaration?

In the lead-up to the last National Conference of my party (the Labor Party,) in 2015 attempts were made by some individuals to include unilateral recognition of a state of Palestine within the Party platform. Then-Senator Joe Bullock of WA, himself a strong supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish community, published an opinion piece in the Australian newspaper condemning the move

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments he expressed and would vote and speak against any further attempts to push Labor towards such a unilateral recognition of a State of Palestine

5. Global Antisemitism

I oppose the BDS campaign and am pleased that the Labor Party's platform likewise rejects it.
Should there be any attempt to change this position inside the Labor Party I will be one of the first to fight that change.

6. Antisemitism in Australia

As an historian, I know where anti-Semitic language leads. There is a necessary link between word, intention and act. I will not be a bystander. I strongly support protections against promoting racial hatred, including the retention of sections 18C and 18D of the Racial Discrimination Act in their current form. I know where tolerance of the intolerable leads, and regard such legislation as a necessary clarification of what freedom of speech actually means.
Labor leader Bill Shorten has likened radical preachers, and those who preach hatred, to predators who target children and teenagers. It’s an assessment with which I agree. To combat this I would urge governments to introduce a program of education in schools; if it's good enough to teach our young children tolerance for those in alternative sexual and gender lifestyles, its good enough to teach our children tolerance and acceptance for all racial and religious and ethnic backgrounds.

7. Relations with Iran

Iran continues to contravene its international obligations and remains the greatest state sponsor of global terrorism. (Refer to Appendix 5 – Iran: a Rogue State.)

Do you envisage making any changes to the following, without prior public consultation?

· additional diplomatic representation of Iran in Australia
· further relaxation of sanctions and expansion of trade

Liberal Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has disgracefully entered into intelligence-sharing deals with Iran, as well as entertaining the establishment of an Iranian embassy in Melbourne. These are decisions with which I strongly disagree.

Along with Labor figures like Michael Danby, I oppose these measures and any others like them.

Jewish Community of WA Election Questionnaire

The Jewish Community Council invited Federal Parliamentary Candidates to respond to a Questionnaire addressing some key issues important to our community, as follows. Responses will be published here in subsequent postings.

13 June 2016

Dear Parliamentary Candidate

Re: 2016 Election Questionnaire

As the elected representative of the WA Jewish Community, through our 30+ constituent community organisations, we are pleased to provide the attached questionnaire addressing many of the issues that are important to us.

We invite you to respond with your replies or your comments, which we will disseminate to the community for you.

We also invite you to discuss any of these issues, by phoning me at your convenience. If you prefer, we’ll be pleased to meet with you.

Your faithfully

Steve Lieblich

Director of Public Affairs, Jewish Community Council of WA...

1. Safety and Security

The Jewish Community is increasingly concerned about the safety and security of community members and assets. (Refer to Appendix 1 – Jewish Community Security.)

Do you envisage any changes to government support and funding of Jewish-community security? If so, what changes?

2. Private Schools

Do you envisage making changes to government funding of our Private Schools? If so, what changes?

3. Religious Freedom

· regulation of brit milah

· regulation of kosher slaughter (“shechita”)

· regulation of kosher certification

4. Israel

Our community overwhelmingly supports Zionism as the modern political movement for the self-determination of the Jewish people; and Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.

Do you support those notions?

Do you consider Australian-media reporting on Israel to be fair and unbiased? If not, would you take any specific action or make any statements to promote fair, unbiased reporting?

5. Global Antisemitism

6. Antisemitism in Australia

7. Relations with Iran

Iran continues to contravene its international obligations and remains the greatest state sponsor of global terrorism. (Refer to Appendix 5 – Iran: a Rogue State.)

Do you envisage making any changes to the following, without prior public consultation?

· additional diplomatic representation of Iran in Australia
· further relaxation of sanctions and expansion of trade

Appendix 1 – Jewish Community Security

Security costs include one-off capital costs to harden buildings against potential attacks as well as the recurring operations costs of monitoring systems and guards. The latter in particular are a growing concern and drain on our communal resources.

Our communal dollars are needed for a myriad of worthy causes, such as youth programs, education, aged care and welfare, but we are finding it increasingly difficult to give physical security the priority it requires. We currently receive government funding assistance towards the security costs of Jewish day schools.

Appendix 2 – Incitement to Terror

The latest surge of Arab terror attacks in Israel results from explicit calls by the Arab leaders to “spill blood.” Arab children have been taught to idolize the murder of Jews as a sacred value and to regard their own death in this “jihad” as the pinnacle of their aspirations.

The Palestinian Authority pays handsome stipends to terrorists and their families and idolizes terrorists as admirable “martyrs”. Yet the apathy shown by the international community to this death-culture, and the unbalanced manner in which subsequent violence is often treated by the international media is doing long-term, and possibly irrevocable, harm to the Arabs themselves, more than to anyone.

Yet there is little international opposition to the exploitation of Arab children.

Appendix 3 – Unilateral Recognition of a “Palestinian State”

Another Arab state formed outside the framework of a peace treaty with Israel will almost certainly be in a de facto state of war with Israel, and a platform for intensified attacks on Israel. Indeed, its legitimacy with the Arabs of the region will be defined by its commitment to the eventual destruction of the Jewish state.

Appendix 4 – The BDS Campaign

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign is a product of the NGO Forum held in parallel to the 2001 UN World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, which was marked by repeated expressions of naked anti-Semitism and condemned as such. The declaration established the “Durban Strategy”, promoting “a policy of complete and total isolation of Israel, the imposition of comprehensive sanctions and embargoes, [and] the cessation of all links (diplomatic, economic, social, aid, military cooperation and training) between all states and Israel”.

In deliberately drawing a false parallel to South African apartheid and promoting a campaign like that which eventually led to the downfall of that despicable system, the “Durban Strategy” declared that “Israel should be subject to the same kind of attack, leading to the same kind of result.”

Appendix 5 – Iran: a Rogue State

Iran's state media recently reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps test-fired several long-range ballistic missiles in contravention of. UN Resolution 2231. In response, the US State Department warned that Washington continues to "aggressively apply our unilateral tools to counter threats from Iran's missile program" and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called for sanctions against Iran.

The US State Department’s June 2016 annual report on global terrorist activity, lists Iran as the top state sponsor of terrorism and said that Iran "remained the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in 2015, providing a range of support, including financial, training, and equipment, to groups around the world." The report also said that Iran was continuing to provide arms and cash to terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia terrorist groups.

Iran currently maintains an embassy in Canberra.