Glen Eira Council to vote on adopting official anti-Semitism definition

Glen Eira councillors voted in favour of adopting an official anti-Semitism definition after backlash from Jewish community leaders.

A Melbourne council has voted in favour of adopting an official defintion of anti-Semitism following backlash from Jewish leaders over a report recommending councillors reject the classification.

Six Glen Eira City councillors voted in favour of adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) classification while one abstained at a council meeting on Tuesday night.

Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, who had been advocating for the council to adopt the definition welcomed the move.

“The battle against bigotry is everyone’s fight, and this is another step in not only protecting and caring about the safety of Jewish residents but is a bell of justice that will ring loudly for all minorities who are subjected to racism daily,” he said.

“An accurate and modern definition of antisemitism will help City of Glen Eira recognise, identify, and fight this form of hatred whenever and wherever it emerges.”

Council officers prepared a report ahead of the vote which recommended councillors vote against adopting the IHRA’s definition, stating anti-Semitism should be denounced through “action-orientated approaches” rather than implementing a formal definition.

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich said a strong message against anti-Semitism was needed. Picture: Tony Gough

More than 40 countries, including the US, France and Germany, as well as the NSW state government, have adopted the IHRA’s classification as the official definition of anti-Semitism.

According to the IHRA, anti-Semitism is a “certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred”.

“Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities,” the definition reads.

The vote comes after vandals defaced election posters of federal Member for Macnamara Josh Burns defaced with the word ‘Nazi’ and Hitler’s moustache in St Kilda and Elsternwick – suburbs with large Jewish communities.

In January, a van belonging to Jewish soup kitchen Souper Kitchen had its tires slashed in three attacks months apart from one another.

In preparing the report, council officers met with a range of experts including the Jewish Communities Council of Victoria, the Anti-Defamation Commission and the New Israel Fund, and found opinions over the definition’s adoption differed.

The report said the proposal would be welcomed by the local Jewish community, which is the largest in Australia, but recommended “action-orientated approaches” instead of implementing the IHRA’s classification.

“Council is not required to adopt a single definition of anti-Semitism in order to continue to undertake its numerous commitments, actions and activities to reject racism in all its forms, celebrate diversity and promote social cohesion,” the report said.

Glen Eira City Council in Melbourne’s south-east is home to Australia’s largest Jewish population with more than 22,000 residents identifying with the religion.