A Sydney council adopts working definition of antisemitism
Woollahra Council has endorsed and adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
Sean Carmichael
Richard Shields
Isabelle Shapiro
The Notice of Motion was tabled by the Mayor of Woollahra, Councillor Richard Shields and colleagues, Councillor Isabelle Shapiro and Councillor Sean Carmichael.
Mayor Shields said the adoption of the definition was an important tool for Council to identify and combat antisemitism and is an extension of the support the Council has demonstrated for the Jewish community.
He said: “In response to the deplorable upsurge in antisemitism in Australia it is very important for our organisation to have a clear definition, so we can continue our position to stand against and call out all forms of racism that threaten our social cohesion.”
Speaking in support of the motion, Councillor Shapiro said the rise in antisemitism has left the Jewish community feeling “isolated, bewildered and scared.
Council has always prided itself on standing up against racism, for which I am very grateful… it is important and more relevant than ever that Woollahra Council, which has one of the largest Jewish populations, adopts the IHRA definition of antisemitism.”
Also speaking in support of the motion, Councillor Carmichael said that “criticism of Israel is fostering antisemitism, and I believe the agenda behind this criticism is so much bigger and existentially dangerous to us all.”
The Australian Government adopted the IHRA definition in 2021 with bipartisan support, followed by New South Wales and Victoria, and local Councils of Waverley and Glen Eira.
Although the definition is “non-legally binding” it provides a guideline and a tool to assess whether or not an act or a statement can reasonably be regarded as antisemitic.
Three Councillors abstained from the vote: Councillor Nicola Grieve, Councillor Harriet Price and Councillor Matthew Robertson.
