Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that visa applicants are being screened for anti-Semitic views, after Special Envoy Jillian Segal recommended more stringent processes to deal with the issue.
Albanese was asked during a press conference whether he agreed with Segal that if a person “suggests that the state of Israel should be eliminated“ that they ”should be deported?”
Albanese responded with, “We have our system which goes through security clearances, and that’s a condition that with that, we make across the board, we examine whether someone’s an appropriate person to be granted a visa to Australia.”
“We do that across the board. We keep Australians safe. That is what we do.”
Albanese pointed to the recent decision to bar U.S. rapper Kanye West from entering the country after he released the song, Heil Hitler.
Jewish Voices Group Concerned Definition Too Broad
His comments came amid debate over the broader scope of the recommendations outlined in the “Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Anti-Semitism (pdf).”
Jewish Voices of Inner Sydney released a statement concerned about a proposal to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, and also giving Segal the power to defund universities and cultural institutions found to engage in anti-Semitism.
The definition adopted by the IHRA on May 26, 2016 is:
“Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, as well as Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The group also complained that Segal did not cite specific examples of Australians being fed biased and distorted narratives about Israel.
Concerns About Impact on Personal Freedoms
The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties warned some recommendations did not “strike the right balance” with respecting civil liberties like the right to protest.Among the 49 recommendations includes broadening hate speech laws, limiting the impact of AI and algorithms in spreading anti-Semitic content, and tying government funding to universities’ and cultural institutions to anti-Semitism guidelines.
Timothy Roberts, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said governments across Australia were moving to “pass laws and policies repressing legitimate political speech to silence protest and prevent assembly.”
“This is all happening in circumstances where legitimate criticism of the government of Israel is being conflated with anti-Semitism—sometimes wilfully,” he was reported in The Guradian.
Segal Stands By Proposals
Segal has defended her proposals as necessary and proportionate.“The document is a whole-of-society document which focuses on educating people about what anti-Semitism is,” she told ABC radio.
“There are hot spots where we have some entrenched—I would say anti-Semitism, but certainly hatred—and we need to tackle those areas specifically, like universities.”
Other proposals in the July 10 plan includes a “report card” system to assess the handling of anti-Semitic incidents by universities.
Segal also called for a probe into foreign sources of funding for activities on campus, and floated the possibility of a judicial inquiry by 2026.
Media outlets could also be pressured to encourage “accurate, fair and responsible reporting” with funding for broadcasters, arts events and cultural institutions “readily terminated” if they facilitate or tolerate anti-Semitic conduct.
