Jewish council warns against Victorian government weaponising act of antisemitism to stifle legitimate protest

The Jewish Council of Australia warns against increasingly reckless responses by government and media to recent events in Melbourne, including calls to expand police powers.

The arson attack on East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation was a vile and heartbreaking act of antisemitism.

The council stands firmly with the congregation, many of whom are friends and family of its members.

It is irresponsible and inflammatory to link this antisemitic act with separate protest actions targeting businesses with ties to the Israeli military.

We understand that the protest at Miznon restaurant was targeted at the connection between the restaurant and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a US-Israeli initiative which has been directly linked to the intentional slaughter of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza and blocking UN-backed aid.

At least 600 Palestinians have been shot by Israeli soldiers while seeking aid at GHF sites since late May according to the UN. Aid groups describe it as a “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid.”

Individual restaurant patrons should not be subject to intimidation or harassment, but it is irresponsible to label this protest as antisemitic based solely on the Jewish identity of the restaurant’s owner.

Similarly, it is irresponsible to label the targeting of Lovitt Technologies Australia as antisemitic. Lovitt manufactures components used in the production of F-35 fighter jets, which have been deployed to bomb Gaza. Suggesting that these actions are antisemitic conflates Jewish identity with the state of Israel, and risks fomenting more antisemitism.

Ohad Kozminsky, an executive member of the Jewish Council of Australia, said:

“We are heartbroken by the attack on East Melbourne Synagogue and stand in solidarity with its community.

“It is irresponsible to label protesting a weapons company or the spokesperson of a discredited fake aid scheme as antisemitic and to lump them in with a violent act of antisemitism at a synagogue. Such language inaccurately conflates Jewishness with support for Israel and undermines the fight against real antisemitism.

“This narrative is inaccurate and dangerously misleading. It is fuelling moral panic and justifying repressive and unnecessary police powers that will do nothing to combat the real problem of antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism and other forms of racism.

“There is no Jewish safety in a society where criticism of militarism is banned, protest is criminalised, and war crimes are excused.” – JCA