Jewish Council of Australia urges the Australian government to reject racism against Palestinian people fleeing persecution in Gaza

This week Sky News reported it had a list with the personal details of 500 Palestinian people who had obtained visas to flee overwhelming violence in Gaza, 81 of whom are in Australia.

The Jewish Council of Australia is concerned for the safety of the Palestinian people who have had their identities exposed to Sky News and urges the Australian government to investigate how this private information was obtained to prevent the spread of this information.

The Council is alarmed that some Jewish organisations have been lobbying for the Australian government to refuse entry to people seeking safety from Gaza and have mobilised anti-Palestinian racism and sentiment to do so.

The co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry told Sky News he was concerned about Palestinians arriving in Australia from Gaza being able to live alongside the Jewish community, saying:

“While we’re sure that appropriate checks will be carried out to ensure that no one is a member of a terrorist organisation, or a sympathiser, or endorsed the October 7 atrocities; I think there’s a greater concern about the worldview, the values that these people hold, and are they compatible with Australian values and living alongside a Jewish community that they’ve been raised to hate?”

The Jewish Council rejects the assertion that Australia accepting Palestinians fleeing unprecedented violence is in any way a threat to the safety of Jewish people. Many Jewish people have a deep understanding of fleeing persecution and many Jews have deep and meaningful relationships with Palestinians, including those from Gaza.

In response, Dr Max Kaiser, historian and Executive Officer of the Jewish Council said: “Many of us in the Jewish Council of Australia have family histories of fleeing antisemitic violence and racism in Europe. When our relatives came to countries like Australia, they also faced racism and abuse. Because of these histories, we know how important it is for Australia to support newly arrived Palestinians, and to reject all forms of racism against them.”

“The rhetoric directed against Palestinian refugees is reminiscent of the same rhetoric used to vilify Jewish refugees in the 1940s and 1950s who were frequently labeled ‘security risks’.”

“This rhetoric is also part of a long history of racism and exclusion in Australia, from the White Australia Policy to panics about ‘boat people’”, he said.

Sarah Schwartz, human rights lawyer and Executive Officer of the Jewish Council commented:

“The Australian Government should not be influenced by the Israel lobby’s false and racist depictions of Palestinians fleeing unprecedented violence in Gaza. Many Jewish people have family histories of fleeing persecution and understand the importance of Australia meeting its obligations under International Law to protect the human rights of refugees.”

“Far from serving the interests of Jews in Australia, these Zionist organisations are serving as mouthpieces for Israel, propagating the lie that all Palestinians are terrorists and antisemites, in a callous attempt to legitimise an unfolding genocide,” she said.

Dr Elizabeth Strakosch, public policy and politics expert and Executive Officer of the Jewish Council also condemned the suggestions made by ECAJ: “Many of us have deep relationships with Palestinian people based on mutual trust and respect. Any suggestion that Palestinians arriving from Gaza are a threat to Jews is outrageous.”

“We are concerned about the racist language used by some Jewish community organisations in describing Palestinian refugees arriving in Australia. They rely on racist tropes of Palestinian people as dangerous and full of hatred. It is unacceptable to use racist and dehumanising language to argue against providing safety to those fleeing overwhelming violence,” she said.

Historical background

Rhetoric directed against Palestinian refugees is reminiscent of the same rhetoric used to vilify Jewish refugees in the 1940s and 1950s who were frequently labeled ‘security risks’. T.H. White, Australia’s delegate to the 1938 Evian Conference famously said with reference to German and Austrian Jewish refugees, Australia has “no real racial problem [and is] not desirous of importing one”. This rhetoric is also part of a long history of racism and exclusion in Australia, from the White Australia Policy to the War on Terror’s exclusion of people from the Middle East.

 

Republished from Jewish Council of Australia, February 27, 2024