Businessman David Gonski has fronted the Royal Commission into Antisemitism as two Israel conferences land before Commission Bell reports. Wendy Bacon reports.
Prominent businessman David Gonski gave evidence at the Royal Commission into Antisemitism yesterday in its final hearing block which is focussed on social cohesion.
Gonski is Chair of the Antisemitism Education Taskforce which is driving the implementation of the Special Envoy for Antisemitism Jillian Segal’s plan for the whole education sector.
The former head of the ‘Gonski’ review into education funding outlined the Taskforce’s plan for antisemitism education from preschool to TAFE and university and told the Royal Commission that he hoped that an antisemitic education curriculum should extend beyond the holocaust to include content about the contribution of Jewish people to Australian society including their generosity.
(He was not asked how this would sit with the contribution of other communities.)
He also said that he hoped that Universities, which will all be required to adopt definitions of antisemitism, would be allowed to choose the IHRA and Universities Australia definition.
IHRA “out of touch with reality”
This week a Supreme Court judge described the IHRA definition as being out of touch with reality.
Gonski’s evidence was upbeat and reflected his public image as moderate and considered. But like many other witnesses, his evidence was not tested, apart from a couple of questions from Commissioner Virginia Bell.
For instance, there was no mention or questions about his role as chair of a national summit of the Combat Antisemitism Movement Conference (CAM) in Sydney on November 26/27 which, if last year’s conference is anything to go by, may contribute to social conflict as much as social cohesion.
Gonski is an international advisor of the global CAM organisation which campaigns for pro-Israel policies and is headed by IDF general Sasha Roytman in Tel Aviv. One of CAM’s goals is to implement the IHRA definition in all levels and fields of government.
Jillian Segal will have a key role in the conference as she did at the first national CAM summit on the Gold Coast last year.
Critics of Antisemitism Summit ‘antisemitic’ says Israeli antisemitism chief
One of Australia’s most pro Israel councils Waverley Council is hosting and contributing staff time to the conference. It plans to promote its model code on how local government should tackle antisemitism.
In line with this policy, it quickly to removed a book How to Sell a Genocide: The Media’s Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza from its library’s shelves this week after a resident said she was upset by it.
Councillors from around Australia are being invited to register for the Conference but CAM reserves the right to refuse Councillors. Those accepted can apply for subsidies.
Both the Australian and NSW governments have endorsed the conference
with their logos on its website and a Waverley Council media release stated that both governments will provide funding. The venue has not yet been announced.
The bottom of the registration page notes too that Charmaine Roth has taken over the role of her deceased husband Stanley (Stanley and John Roth donated to right wing astro-turfing group Advance Australia)
Dor Foundation, which is chaired by ex Coalition MP Josh Frydenberg, and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) are among a number of organisations supporting the CAM conference.
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To assist in organising the conference, CAM has appointed Yisel as a senior advisor in Australia. His previous job in Tel Aviv was CEO of Mosaic United which organises to strengthen Jewish identity and connections to Israel.
Another key CAM organiser is senior advisor Alex Polson who was involved in the astroturfing groups Better Councils and Better Australia which campaigned to put Greens and Teals last in local and federal elections.
Earlier this year, he said the Bondi summit would build a “coordinated national framework and, for the first time, bring every tier of government into the room, with councils doing the hard work on the ground.
“Waverley has written the playbook –
Bondi is where we hand it to the rest of the country.”
“The Hebrew Hammer”: inside the Gold Coast’s antisemitism junket
Jerusalem Post conference
CAM will not be the only pro-Israel conference in Sydney in the weeks leading up to the release of the Royal Commission report and the anniversary of the Bondi Massacre.
One week before the CAM conference, Israeli media outlet the Jerusalem Post will be holding a Sydney conference on November 19. It will be devoted to building Australian ties with Israel.
The Israel Embassy is promoting the conference
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Wendy Bacon is an investigative journalist who was the Professor of Journalism at UTS. She worked for Fairfax, Channel Nine and SBS and has published in The Guardian, New Matilda, City Hub and Overland. She has a long history in promoting independent and alternative journalism.
She is a long-term supporter of a peaceful BDS and the Greens.