Motivation questioned as Greens insert Senator Mehreen Faruqi in anti-Semitic probe
Questions have been raised over Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi’s substitution onto a Senate committee to determine if there should be a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on Australian campuses.
The Greens have inserted senator Mehreen Faruqi, who has refused to say whether terrorist group Hamas should be dismantled, into a Senate committee to determine whether there should be a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism at universities.
The Coalition’s Julian Leeser questioned Senator Faruqi’s “motivation” in substituting for usual Senate standing committees on legal and constitutional affairs member for the Greens David Shoebridge, given her track-record on Israel.
Senator Faruqi, who holds the anti-racism portfolio for the Greens, was recently criticised by Anthony Albanese for refusing to declare that Hamas should not play a role in a future Palestinian state.
In an interview on ABC’s Insiders in July, Senator Faruqi said the Palestinian people should decide whether Hamas should be dismantled, that the Prime Minister “was a bit rich … to say that unfurling a banner from the top of Parliament House was somehow not peaceful”, and downplayed pro-Palestine graffiti on the Australian War Memorial as “some paint on a building”.
Senator Faruqi recently sent The Australian a concerns notice – a precursor to defamation action – over a Johannes Leak cartoon that pictured her with a “Hamas” headband and whitewashing a wall bearing the words “October 7” following the interview.
In July, when Mr Albanese appointed anti-Semitism special envoy Jillian Segal, Senator Faruqi criticised the move, saying Labor should “implement the national anti-racism strategy rather than meddling with its mandate by creating new positions that eat into its remit”.
During debate on the motion to refer this bill to the committee, Senator Faruqi said the Liberal Party was trying to “weaponise anti-Semitism, to attack those who are standing up to Israel’s genocide in Gaza”.
Mr Leeser asked why Senator Faruqi had “purposely inserted herself into this inquiry”.
“Given the range of things she’s said and done in this space, I think she needs to explain her motivation for being on this inquiry.”
He referred to a number of actions by Senator Faruqi including voting against a motion condemning “from the river to the sea” with the Greens, and posting a since-deleted photo on Instagram of herself with pro-Palestinian protesters, one of whom is holding a blatantly anti-Semitic sign depicting an Israeli flag tossed into a bin with the words “keep the world clean”.
“It’s a matter sent to the legal and constitutional affairs committee, as the legal affairs spokesperson Senator Shoebridge would be the best qualified person on the Greens to determine whether a judicial inquiry is the best course.
“Why is Senator Faruqi on this committee? What is her motivation for sitting on this inquiry in particular?”
Senator Faruqi has also replaced Senator Shoebridge on a references committee into the “right-wing extremist movements in Australia”.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry in its submission to the anti-Semitism inquiry committee last week said Australia’s leading universities had “at times enabled or tolerated” the discriminatory treatment of Jewish students, and a judicial inquiry with royal commission-like powers was needed so Jewish people could speak freely without the fear of being sacked, doxxed or marked down.
ECAJ co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said Senator Faruqi’s position “compromises the integrity of the commission” and the Greens should “stand down” altogether.
“The Greens certainly know a thing or two about anti-Semitism but Senator Faruqi sitting on an inquiry into university anti-Semitism compromises the integrity of the commission and exposes victims of anti-Semitism to further harm. It could also deter victims from giving evidence,” Mr Ryvchin said.
“The Greens have acted as the parliamentary wing of the anti-Israel movement … in addition to their own shameful antics directed at our community.”
“If they have any honour or concern for victims of racism and discrimination whatsoever, they would stand down from this committee.”
Opposition education spokeswoman senator Sarah Henderson, who brought the private senator’s bill to establish a judicial inquiry on anti-Semitism on campus, said she was “concerned at Senator Faruqi’s involvement in this inquiry and the impact this may have on witnesses who are Jewish … Given the harm and distress suffered by so many Jewish students and academics since 7 October, I trust that all participating senators will conduct themselves appropriately and with respect for every person giving evidence”.
Senator Faruqi did not respond to request for comment by The Australian’s deadline. She is a passionate pro-Palestine advocate, joining protests almost every week since October 7.
More than 170 submissions have been uploaded to the committee website, many from students and staff highlighting their experience of anti-Semitic hate or discrimination on campuses.
Jewish students, represented by the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, said “many … who used to dream of going to university now dread it” amid a “normalisation of anti-Semitic discourse” on campus.
The Zionist Federation of Australia said many universities did not act in the “face of flagrant intimidation of Jews”, instead “pointing to arguments of ‘free speech’ or ‘academic freedom’ ”.
The Group of Eight, in its submission, said anti-Semitism was a “whole of society issue” and the focus on universities left the inquiry with a “narrow scope (which) misses the opportunity to take a genuine look at the causes and drivers endangering our social cohesion”.
Muslim Women Australia said it was “very concerned” the proposed Commission of Inquiry into anti-Semitism at Australian Universities Bill “will intensify human rights violations against Australian-Palestinian, Muslim and Arab university students and staff”.
Muslim Votes Matter, in its submission, said while it supported the overarching goal of combating anti-Semitism, it “opposes the bill in its current form due to its potential implications for free speech and academic freedom”.
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