Royal Commision as Star Chamber

Another letter sent to Melbourne The Age.

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“When the very concept of antisemitism is subject to enormous debate, unless its core is focus is agreed upon, a Royal Commission or similar inquiry could become a Star Chamber

If any investigation is to go ahead, it must have absolutely clarity. This comes down to core definitional problems around political speech critical of Israel or Zionism as distinct from more traditional bias and violent actions about which there is no dispute.

The Australian government has fallen into the trap of supporting International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, a non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism. It has been subject to much criticism for being taken as a prescriptive standard limiting free speech, not least of all by many Jewish experts in antisemitism. An academic document must not be treated as a legal dictum.

Its key drafter, Kenneth Stern has warned against its misuse as a tool against political speech in the culture wars. The IHRA has become a weapon of the Trump administration.

There are other tools available such as the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.

Without accounting for this significant problem any inquiry will reek of McCarthyism.”