Push to mandate antisemitism definition in NSW law, universities

The NSW Coalition is seeking to adopt a new definition of antisemitism across all levels of government and public institutions, while requiring 10 universities to choose one of two definitions to apply in their code of conduct.

The move comes after the Coalition introduced a separate bill targeting violent extremism on Tuesday, following the Bondi shooting last December, where two men allegedly shot and killed 15 people celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi Beach. That bill would criminalise the recruitment or coercion of individuals into violent extremism, with aggravated penalties for those targeting children.

Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said both bills sought to target “extremist actors” seeking to radicalise children and vulnerable people, and to “further their twisted agenda”.

“Creating a new offence provides law enforcement agencies with more tools to combat and prevent violent extremism,” Sloane said, calling on Premier Chris Minns to support her party’s bills.

While the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism is straightforward, its listed examples of “antisemitism in public life” published with the definition have been criticised as limiting freedom of speech.

The federal government, along with several other states, including NSW, have already endorsed the IHRA antisemitism definition, but that doesn’t make it legally binding. A report handed down by the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, in July last year, recommended the IHRA definition be adopted by all states and enshrined into law.

Shadow Attorney-General Damien Tudehope said the IHRA examples were designed to call out attempts to disguise antisemitism as legitimate criticism of Israel.

“The IHRA itself states [that], manifestations of antisemitism might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic,” he said.

NSW president of the Jewish Board of Deputies David Ossip said the bill was a sensible and practical proposal that balanced free speech considerations.

“It will help guide our institutions to understand what is and isn’t antisemitic, whilst also balancing free speech considerations,” he said. “If passed into law, it would be a very useful and necessary reform, which is especially appropriate in the current environment.”

Greens MP Sue Higginson rebuked the bill, saying the “radical and poorly defined” definition would have a chilling effect on legitimate criticism of Israel, and risks “institutionalising anti-Palestinian racism”.

“It will force educational organisations and government to adopt a radical and poorly defined definition that will propagate fear and confusion among both Jewish and non-Jewish people alike,” Higginson said.

“The Labor government should hold firm against this dangerous proposal, and resist the temptation to further criminalise legitimate political expression that is in no way antisemitic.”

Ten universities – including the University of NSW, University of Sydney, Western Sydney University and the University of Technology Sydney – would be required to adopt either the IHRA or the Universities Australia definition. Universities would have to refer to the IHRA examples regardless of which definition is adopted.

The Universities Australia definition distinguishes that criticism of the Israeli government or state is not antisemitic, unless it is grounded in harmful tropes, calls for the elimination of Israel or holds Jewish people responsible for Israel’s actions. It does not eliminate the possibility that substituting the word “Zionist” for “Jew” is antisemitic.

When Minns was asked about the bill earlier in the week, he said he was cautious about moving laws prohibiting speech too quickly.

The antisemitism bill also seeks to prevent ministers or their staff from knowingly approving grants to a person or body that engages in antisemitism, and ensure government agencies do not procure goods from companies or people suspected of engaging in antisemitic activities.

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