Sydney mayors put politics aside in multi-faith move to combat anti-Semitism
High-profile Sydney mayors have united in a rare multi-faith initiative to combat anti-Semitism and protect social cohesion as Chris Minns looks set to criminalise vilification.
Three high-profile Sydney mayors have put party lines aside to launch an emergency social cohesion and anti-Semitism roundtable in a rare bipartisan and multi-faith move that includes political leaders from the Jewish and Muslim faiths.
It comes as NSW Premier Chris Minns is poised to criminalise vilifying or inciting hatred against a person because of their faith or ethnicity, blaming hate speech for fuelling Sydney’s rise of anti-Semitic attacks.
The latest, an attack on Friday in Sydney’s east where cars were torched and the former home of Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin vandalised, followed synagogues being targeted in Newtown, Allawah and North Sydney.
On Tuesday, mayors Will Nemesh, Darcy Byrne and Ned Mannoun joined forces to announce a February mayoral roundtable for Sydney’s local government leaders to respond to fraying social cohesion and an “alarming rise of anti-Semitic attacks”.
The role of Waverley Liberal mayor Mr Nemesh has transformed over the past few months, given the recent targeting of the area’s Jewish residents.
“Australia has long been celebrated as a tolerant multi-faith and multicultural nation,” Mr Nemesh, a Jewish man, said. “However, recent events and the escalation of anti-Semitism is fracturing our social cohesion and making our community feel less safe. We must work together across our diverse communities to combat hatred and division.”
Inner West mayor Mr Byrne, whose council area overlaps with Anthony Albanese’s electorate, said “anti-Semitic vandalism, graffiti and threats are getting out of control and social cohesion is breaking down”.
“We’re calling on all mayors and councils to join us in a grassroots effort to combat extremism and protect our multicultural, multi-faith city from growing division,” Mr Byrne, who hails from Labor’s left faction and has a close relationship with the Prime Minister, said.
He slammed the Greens for helping “whip up” anti-Semitism over the past 15 months, especially in light of the vandalism of a Newtown synagogue just over a week ago.
Mr Mannoun, the longstanding Liberal mayor of Liverpool in Sydney’s southwest, said mayors were “uniquely placed to bring communities together”.
“By working together all across Sydney, we can build bridges, foster understanding and create a stronger, united future – no matter your postcode,” he said.
A Muslim, Mr Mannoun has advocated against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia – including when targeted himself. He is a strong pro-peace advocate who has previously urged Mr Albanese to “use his voice for peace”.
His involvement in the roundtable marks a rare initiative that sees Labor and Liberal figures, and leaders from the Jewish and Muslim faiths, take a united stand.
Invitations to the February roundtable will be sent to all Sydney metropolitan mayors. The event intends to showcase the “critical role” of local government and allow leaders to collaborate on proactive measures to strengthen social harmony, foster unity and address community concerns.
Mr Minns on Monday declared the spate of anti-Semitic attacks had been fuelled by “hateful rhetoric” and said he would bring the state’s criminal protections in line with stronger provisions in other states. “Given there’s been a higher incidence of anti-Semitic violence and division in Sydney, I think the minimum standard should be at least (in line) with what other states are doing,” he said.
The state’s hate-speech provisions are enclosed in section 93Z of the criminal code, which outlaws inciting or threatening violence on the grounds of race or religion, among other protected attributes.
The provision has registered just one conviction since its enactment, with Jewish leaders saying it had failed to capture hate speech aimed at their community.
“(Anti-Semitic attacks) don’t begin with a criminal pursuing a hate crime … It begins with hate speech in the community sparking bad actors,” Mr Minns said, adding there were “certain obligations and laws” to protect multiculturalism in NSW.
Protections against faith-based vilification are enclosed in the civil code but require complainants to take action themselves through the nation’s human-rights body and court system.
Jewish leaders took this action in the Federal Court last year against two Sydney clerics.
“That (route) obviously puts a target on the individual pursuing that action,” Mr Minns said, adding the proposal’s details would be released when parliament returns in February.
A lower bar required in Western Australia has resulted in 52 proven charges in the past two decades under a similar offence; Victoria is set to criminalise inciting “hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule” based on faith, among other attributes.
After The Australian revealed a raft of anti-Semitic sermons at fringe Islamic centres, where Jewish people were called “rats, bloodthirsty monsters, and descendants of pigs and monkeys”, Mr Minns sent section 93Z to a Law Reform Commission, which recommended no legislative changes.
Mr Minns said the amendments would protect any and each community that was targeted, noting also recent Islamophobic vandalism in Sydney’s southwest.
“No matter who is preaching hatred ... they’ll be subject to the same laws,” he said.
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