Celebrating Cultural Diversity
When NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Ray Williams launched the website Remove Hate from the Debate recently, he hoped that it would help young people take positive action when confronted with hateful comments online.
Ray Williams
When J-Wire caught up with him he said that if the website could show young people how to have a rational conversation when confronted with hateful speech, it might do some good.
He agreed that within today’s online world, there are plenty of opportunities for people to vent their spleen.
“Young people can suffer greatly and be easily affected by any form of bullying.
“It is important that social media forums are vigilant in not permitting hateful speech to run free” he said.
Concerning the current rise of antisemitism, the Minister said that the emergence of extreme right-wing activism has been observed, mainly through online campaigns.
While thanking the Australian Jewish community for its commitment to interfaith dialogue and building and maintaining social harmony in NSW, the Minister said he believed that Australians generally would not put up with a person being vilified in public and would stand up for someone being harassed.
“It’s not a perfect world we live in, but I believe Australia is a socially cohesive and compassionate society. We should not be complaisant but highlighting the cultural diversity of our State is something of which we should all be proud.
“Festivals like Chanukah give the opportunity to show that some things are universal. Food and celebration of life is something which breaks down cultural divides. We are all extremely fortunate to live here” he said.
