The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is turning into a show trial with the Palestine solidarity movement in the dock.
Called in the wake of the tragic, antisemitic attack on a Jewish event on Bondi beach last December, the commission was given the brief to investigate “the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in institutions and society, and (examine) its key drivers in Australia”.
But the approach has been biased from the start, with the commission accepting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which categorises challenges to Israeli apartheid and genocide as racist.
As a result, witnesses have been free to argue that to attack Israel is to attack all Jews, with little or no pushback from the lawyers assisting the commission.
No one was called to make the argument that the rapid rise of the pro-Palestine movement has been a result of revulsion against a genocide, not hatred of Jews.
As the progressive Jewish Council of Australia states, “Definitions of antisemitism that conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism are harmful and counterproductive.
“This conflation diverts institutional attention from real antisemitism, including the threat of the far right, while legitimising the silencing of Palestinians and their advocates.”
Frequent focus
The first block of hearings in Sydney heard from many Australian Jews—but not those Jews who stand with Palestine and against Zionism.
The Melbourne-based, anti-Zionist Loud Jew Collective was barred from participation. Dozens of anti-Zionist Jews made submissions but none was called to provide evidence.
Despite the frequent focus on the Palestine solidarity movement, there was also no space made to hear from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN).
Instead the commission heard from Jewish witnesses who made clear their support for Israel while heaping slurs on Palestine activists, often voicing irrational fears that went without challenge.
One witness said he worried he might be killed at Mardi Gras earlier this year given pro-Palestine protests by Pride in Protest and the Greens—two organisations deeply committed to opposing racism.
A woman talked about going to see the Opera House lit up in Israeli colours and then having a “dark and ominous sort of feeling”. She added that she feared pro-Palestine protesters because they were “very loud and boisterous”.
Another witness said, “When these slogans are said, whether it’s ‘Free Palestine’, whether it’s ‘Globalise the intifada’, ‘From the River to the Sea’, we don’t see political statements. We see blatant antisemitic statements.”
As University of Sydney academic Nick Riemer put it, “Witness after witness identified calls for a free Palestine, the Palestinian flag, posters, badges, the keffiyeh, protests and their ‘regalia’, Palestine campaign information booths or cake stalls, or Arabic words on T-shirts, as antisemitic.”
Vile emails
The tragedy is that wrongly blaming the Palestine movement for antisemitism trivialises the very real hate that many Jews face.
Take for example, the vile emails reported by the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. Messages included “Hitler was right, and millions of people would be living in peace if it wasn’t for your stupid STUPID … religion” and “You are rodents. Enjoy your last days”.
The Albanese government is happy to focus on antisemitism, pouring resources into the royal commission and Jewish community safety programs, as this can be used to attack the Palestine movement.
But the focus on smearing supporters of Palestine has helped fuel Islamophobia, encouraging the idea that Arabic slogans are suspicious and that Muslims are hateful and violent.
APAN issued a report on anti-Palestinian racism in April that noted, “Between 30 November 2025 and 28 February 2026, 264 incidents were reported.” There has been no call by the ALP for an urgent investigation into these hate crimes.
Labor’s strategy is no way to fight racism. We need to oppose antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism against migrants and Indigenous people all together.
The Labor government’s commitment to Israel as the watchdog of Western imperialist interests in the Middle East means that it accepts the Zionist position by default.
There is a real danger that the royal commission will recommend further attacks on the Palestine movement, that has already been hammered by repressive laws in Queensland and NSW.
Jillian Segal, the passionately pro-Israeli activist chosen by Albanese as his Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, is already advocating a crackdown on Palestine solidarity in publicly-funded organisations such as theatres, universities and museums.
Supporters of Palestinian liberation need to build resistance to the wave of official repression. Recent victories, like defying the ban on marches in Sydney and defeating the University of Sydney’s threat to discipline student activists, show it can be done.
By David Glanz
