Conflation of Jews with Israel fuels antisemitism
JVL Introduction
The Jewish Council of Australia, a progressive Jewish organisation that, like JVL, stands for justice for Palestinians and against antisemitism and all forms of racism, has published its -Submission to the Royal Commission called in the wake of the murderous antisemitic attack on Jews gathering for Chanukah in December 2025 on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
The JCA rejects much of the approach of the Commission, including the IHRA so called “working definition of antisemitism”. In their Media Release we post here, they are clear that “Antisemitism is real, it is rising, and it demands a serious response. But the evidence is clear: the dominant policy response adopted in Australia of punitive laws, the curtailment of civil liberties, and definitions that treat criticism of Israel as antisemitic don’t make Jews safer, they actually make things worse.
“A core feature of antisemitism is stereotyping Jews as being a political monolith. The media and government must ensure that they listen to diverse Jewish voices and avoid treating legacy pro-Israel organisations, or Israeli leaders, as being the sole representatives of Jewish opinion.”
We were pleased to see that the Guardian have written about this submission, highlighting the concerns, shared by so many that “Conflation of Jewish identity with Israel driving antisemitism”
This article was originally published by Jewish Council of Australia on Tue 16 Jun 2026. Read the original here.
Jewish Council of Australia submission urges Royal Commission to reject conflation of antisemitism with Palestine advocacy and focus on far-right threat to Jewish safety
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Interested that the excellent Jewish Council of Australia claims 2,300 members from a community of 120,000 – I looked it up. This is a higher proportion than similar organisations in UK or US. Perhaps they are counting differently. Worth checking to see what we can all learn!