The Federal Government is “carefully” considering a plan to combat antisemitism, which was handed down earlier today by special envoy Jillian Segal.
The plan advises a crackdown on social media algorithms responsible for spreading hate, extra visa screening to identify “extremist views,” and introducing antisemitism education in school curricula.
While the plan has taken nine months to develop, it has been delivered less than a week after a Melbourne synagogue was firebombed in an alleged antisemitic attack.
Antisemitism
Last year, the Government announced two special envoys to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal was tasked with designing a plan for the Government to combat hatred directed at Jewish people.
Segal’s report said there has been an uptick in “hatred directed at the Jewish community around the world” since Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Israel’s subsequent war with Hamas in Gaza has caused a humanitarian crisis.
Plan
Segal handed down the plan to combat antisemitism earlier today, laying out a series of reforms.
She characterised social media as a “vector” for hatred, urging action to remove “bots” from platforms and step up moderation of harmful content.
Segal also urged further transparency from social media companies about how algorithms function.
Additionally, Segal said she will recommend ways to improve school education on “Jewish history, identity, culture, and antisemitism”.
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Her report also proposes greater powers for authorities to refuse or cancel visas if a person has “antisemitic views of affiliations”.
Currently, visas can be rejected on “character grounds”.
The Government recently denied a visa to rapper Kanye West after he released a song titled ‘Heil Hitler’.
Segal also proposed cancelling the visas of people found to be “involved in antisemitism”.
Govt remarks
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared alongside Segal at a press conference to announce the Government would closely consider the report’s recommendations.
“There are Jewish students who have been attacked, vilified, abused, because of their identification... by a perpetrator, for being Jewish. That has no place whatsoever in Australia,” the PM told reporters.
A yearly check-in report will assess the effectiveness of some measures in driving down antisemitism.
Coalition
The Coalition has welcomed the report, although it urged the government to take stronger action immediately.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said: “It should not fall to one individual to shoulder this fight against hate.”
The Coalition has pushed for the Government to commit to a 15-point plan laid out by the Executive Council of the Australian Jewry (ECAJ) earlier this year. Segal’s report echoes part of this plan, although she did not push for a ban on student encampments like the ECAJ.
