1.34 Anything else supports the wrongful weaponising of Antisemitism to silence Palestinian truthtelling, protesters and anti-Zionist Jews in order to restrict discourse about Palestine in so-called Australia. This weaponisation relies on the conflation of Zionism with Judaism in order to characterise criticism of Israel as discrimination against... See more

on the democratic rights of people in our own country is cynical in the extreme). 27 1.25 This misinterpretation wrongly suggests that any criticism of Israel and Zionism —and by extension, recognition of Palestinian self-determination and sovereignty—is inherently antisemitic. Legitimate, legally protected expressions of support for the... See more

Conflation of Antisemitism with Zionism 1.22 It is crucial that the government does not participate in this conflation, which puts individuals at risk, but carefully distinguishes between criticism of the Israeli government and hatred of Jewish people as a whole. Understanding the distinction between Zionism (a modern colonial ideology) and Judaism... See more

1.9 Relevantly, there has been a concerning trend of professional consequences, including misconduct charges against students and staff critical of genocide, racism, the state of Israel and Zionism , especially racialised community members. ‘Many of those protesting against Israel’s ongoing genocide and Australia’s unwillingness to act have been... See more

Recommendation 1 1.1 Universities should, for the purposes of addressing complaints of antisemitism relating to students or staff, adopt a definition of antisemitism that recognises the distinction between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli Government and Zionism .

Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression has, in writing about the particular risks to freedom of expression associated with the conflict in Gaza, cautioned that the IHRA definition conflates antisemitic expression with legitimate political expression: As noted by the European Court of Human... See more

1.12 Of further significance, the IHRA definition has also been the subject of specific criticism by United Nations (UN) international human rights law mechanisms on the basis that it is incompatible with human rights. The UN Special

1.10 They also posited that the conflation of antisemitism and anti-Zionism ‘will inevitably lead to the denial and minimisation of real antisemitism’. 11 Students for Palestine stated that opposition to and critique of Zionism as an ideology is not opposition to Jewish people or their right to be treated as equals: Jewish Voice for Peace defines... See more

the assertion that pro-Palestine activism on Australian University campuses is inherently antisemitic is fallacious, racist, and politically motivated. It is founded on the false conflation of an ancient religious and cultural identity, Judaism, and a modern political ideology.