Community message
- Published May 19 2024
- Community Message
Community message from JCCV President, Philip Zajac.
WE DO THIS FOR YOU
There is a wide range of work being undertaken by the JCCV on behalf of the Victorian Jewish community.
This week, the JCCV has:
- Coordinated meetings of the Victorian Campus Working Group to ensure AUJS are well supported;
- Assisted a number of Jewish academics in interactions with their universities or security services;
- Worked with the Victorian Department of Education on behalf of Jewish families to resolve an issue in a government secondary school;
- Worked with Victoria Police to ensure our community is safe;
- Engaged with local councillors seeking to better understand the position of the Victorian Jewish community;
- Progressed work towards the JCCV-CSG Victorian Antisemitism Report 2023;
- Collaborated with member organisations to help them deal with challenges posed by an increase in antisemitic activity;
- Commemorated fallen soldiers and victims of terror at Yom Hazikaron and then celebrated the miracle that is Israel at Yom Ha’atzmaut.
All of this is done for you, our Jewish community. Our mission continues: to ensure members of the Victorian Jewish community can participate fully as Jews in peace and security.
VICTORIAN PARLIAMENT UPDATE
Have you seen Premier Jacinta Allan’s opinion piece on the Jewish News website about her experience at a JCCV-organised community roundtable? It is clear the Premier was moved by what she heard from a group of brave Jewish women.
The JCCV strongly welcomes the leadership of Victorian Parliament’s Speaker Maree Edwards and President Shaun Leane, who this week ruled that keffiyehs could not be worn in Parliament.
This decision demonstrates strong leadership to the whole Victorian community. A keffiyeh is not religious garb, it is an ultra-nationalist item that has been used by terrorists to symbolise violence against Israel, especially civilians. It has no place in workplaces, including Parliament, schools and hospitals, where it has also been seen.
NEVER AGAIN IS NOW RALLY
This afternoon, the Never Again is Now rally against antisemitism will go ahead on the steps of Victorian Parliament. While the JCCV is not an organiser of this event, we have engaged with Victoria Police to ensure the community is safe.
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
Earlier this week, I sent out a campus update. We all agree that the scenes we have been seeing at the University of Melbourne are absolutely despicable. The leadership allowed the situation to get totally out of hand, and it is students and staff who have borne the consequences. As a graduate of the University of Melbourne and former president of the Melbourne University Jewish Students Society, I am absolutely stunned at how a once proud institution, which nurtured generations of Jewish students, has let itself become overtaken by extremists and radicals.
On the other hand, I would like to acknowledge the universities that have been strong in their response to the encampments.
Monash University
After working tirelessly to provide a safe location for the Jewish community to mark Yom Hashoah and then Yom Hazikaron, Monash Vice-Chancellor Sharon Pickering this week met with Jewish school principals and AUJS representatives this week. Students and staff have told the JCCV the university seems to have made real attempts to combat antisemitism, including by defining red lines in terms of acceptable speech on campus. There is also widespread support for Monash’s move to check IDs of those in the encampment and deny entry to non-students. Meanwhile media has reported that encampment participants have been warned by Monash they could be sanctioned, including with suspension or expulsion, for misconduct.
Deakin University
Deakin University leadership has reiterated its order for the remaining encampment to be dismantled. Vice Chancellor Iain Martin told the Deakin community “there is no place at our university for the unacceptable language and behaviour that we have seen from the protesters.” He also called for “considered debate, discussion and deliberation” rather than “vitriol, personal attack and intimidation”. The JCCV is also supporting Jewish people who were assaulted near the encampment.
La Trobe University
According to Jewish staff and students at La Trobe University there have been no known recent interruptions or incidents, and university leaders have called for the encampment to be dismantled. Jewish staff and students have told the JCCV that university leadership have been supportive and helpful.
UPCOMING PLENUM: ADDRESSING ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS
You are invited to join our upcoming plenum on Monday, 3 June, 2024. We will be hosting a panel of academics and students who will be discussing how antisemitisim is currently being addressed on campuses.
Spots are limited, so please reserve your seat today.
Please note: the evening will commence with plenum formalities for JCCV members and delegates. If you are not a member or delegate, you are welcome to reserve a seat just for the panel and arrive a bit later. Only book 1 ticket per person and not a ticket for each session.
Our last Plenum sold out TWICE, so don’t delay, reserve your seat today!
COMMUNITY KOVED
This weeks’ Community Koved goes to Josh Burns MP for standing up for our community. Josh, a Labor MP, bravely and publicly spoke out against his own Government’s hugely disappointing decision to support a UN Resolution. The Resolution in question sought to reward Palestinian leadership with a greater role in the UN. Josh said Australia should not have supported the motion while “Hamas are still holding over 130 hostages and remains as a governing authority in Gaza”. Josh has done a remarkable job representing his Jewish community in the face of significant pressure from extremists and radicals.
Please send your nominations for Community Koved to community@jccv.org.au
