Jewish leaders condemn Greens’ push to repeal hate laws
Jewish community leaders have condemned calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the Minns government’s handling of the Dural caravan incident, warning that it would provide a platform to ‘gaslight’ the Jewish community and downplay the real threat of antisemitism in NSW.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip defended the hate speech laws passed on 21 February, rejecting claims that they were rushed through solely because of the Dural incident. He argued that despite the revelation that the caravan plot was a criminal hoax, it did not change the fear Jewish Australians had experienced over months of escalating antisemitic attacks.
Ossip described the Greens’ push for an inquiry as a political stunt designed to diminish the seriousness of what the Jewish community has endured. He dismissed suggestions that the laws were enacted in response to a single incident, pointing to a string of antisemitic attacks in recent months, including synagogue vandalism, cars belonging to Jewish families being set on fire, and anti-Jewish graffiti in public spaces.
“The suggestion that these laws were based on just one incident, the caravan plot, is incorrect,” he said. “An inquiry at this stage would merely provide a platform for hostile actors like the Greens party, which has itself been tainted by antisemitism, to gaslight and diminish the seriousness of what the Jewish community has had to deal with in recent months.”
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman has backed an inquiry, arguing that Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley must explain why they caused additional distress for the Jewish community. However, he warned against allowing it to become a wider-ranging review that could be exploited by the Greens. He said the Jewish community had already endured enough stress without the added fear of what was initially framed as a mass terrorist attack. Speakman stated he would only support an inquiry limited to the Dural incident, rather than one that risked being used as a political weapon.
Premier Minns has remained resolute in his defence of the hate speech laws, rejecting claims that the government exaggerated the Dural case to justify the legislation. Attorney-General Michael Daley also insisted the caravan plot had no impact on the content of the legislation, which had been in development before the incident. He pointed to a summer of “absolutely deplorable antisemitic behaviour” as the real motivation for the legal reforms.
Despite these explanations, the Greens have continued to push for the laws to be repealed, arguing they were based on false pretences. Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi has demanded the legislation be overturned when Parliament sits again, questioning why the government proceeded if the AFP knew early on that the caravan plot was a hoax.
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5)
Jewish community leaders have strongly criticised the Greens’ position, arguing that while the Dural hoax may not have been a genuine terrorist attack, it was undeniably antisemitic in nature. Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim dismissed the Greens’ arguments, stating that whoever orchestrated the caravan incident deliberately targeted Jewish sites, using antisemitism as a tool to spread fear.
Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, said the Greens’ response was predictable given their track record of hostility towards the Jewish community. He pointed to overwhelming evidence that the alleged “mastermind” behind the hoax had a history of extreme online antisemitism, making it clear that the attack was not simply a random criminal act.
Meanwhile, the Palestine Action Group has launched a Supreme Court arguing that new protest restrictions near places of worship violate democratic rights. The group has frequently clashed with the NSW government over pro-Palestine rallies and has accused Minns of exploiting fear to push through what it describes as undemocratic laws.
