Jewish, Muslim communities receive government funds to bolster security
The Australian government is funding $25 million to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Inc (ECAJ) and $25 million to Australian Palestinian, Muslim and other communities affected by the current Gaza conflict.
The Australian parliament
The $25 million for the ECAJ will immediately improve community safety measures across Australia aimed primarily to increase protection at Jewish schools and pre-schools across Australia being a key objective of this funding decision.
A further $25 million will be used to provide direct support to Australian Palestinian, Muslim and other communities, who have also been deeply affected by the conflict. This funding will be used to support a range of safety, security, mental health, cohesion and education objectives, in response to the particular needs of local communities.
The announcement was made jointly by Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, Minister for Education Jason Clare, Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles.
Inn addition, the government will provide:
- $3 million over two years for targeted mental health and community wellbeing support services to address psychological harm and community distress. The support will be delivered through the Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma and targeted Primary Health Networks.
- $6 million for mental health and wellbeing support to students in Jewish and Islamic schools and students of Jewish and Islamic faith in government schools, recognising the impact of the conflict on young people in these communities.
- $12.8 million over four years to protect Australians from terrorist and violent extremist online content, including support for a 24/7 online crisis response capability in our region, enhancing our domestic online monitoring and referral capability and providing the eSafety Commissioner additional resources to receive and respond to referrals of abhorrent content, especially out of hours.
The release stated: “This funding will promote resilience and respect across the Australian community while also upholding the right to free and peaceful expression, and harmonious gatherings.
These measures will address both the immediate and longer-term impacts being felt across communities.”
Peter Wertheim, co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told J-Wire: “We are immensely grateful to the Federal government for the special grant of $25 million to the ECAJ to help meet and properly co-ordinate the security needs of the Jewish community across Australia. This will be done in co-ordination with the CSGs and State and ACT roof bodies through the National Council for Jewish Community Security which operates under the aegis of the ECAJ. We have conveyed our thinks to the Prime Minister, the Attorney General, Home Affairs Minister, Education Minister and Minister for Multicultural Affairs.
Sadly, the ongoing conflict situation in Israel is having severe repercussions for Jewish communities all over the world, including in Australia. The CSGs immediately require additional resources to increase the level of protection to the Jewish community including: increased manpower, providing additional services, training of staff and personnel, technology, patrols, crisis management, security monitoring and more.
The $25 million grant is completely separate from, and in addition to, the grants that were announced on Wednesday under the Securing Faith-Based Places Grants program. Whilst many Jewish organisations will be made grant offers under that program, other highly deserving institutions missed out, including six day schools, a Holocaust museum and a Chevra Kadisha to name a few. I have spoken to the Attorney General about this and he has indicated he is willing to hear from us about the design of any future rounds.
On October 18, the government announced $50 million for 177 grants for the Securing Faith-Based Places grant program.
