The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) has issued a statement explaining the difference between criticising Israel and being anti-Semitic, this was adopted at the Federal Council Meeting in February 2024.
AFIC is the leading Muslim organisation in Australia, was founded in 1964 and has a long history of providing various community services and actively advocating for the rights and representation of the Muslim community.
In the current situation, the confusion about the statements made about the Jewish community and those of Israel are affecting the community. And this confusion is being exploited by some voices to create more division and conflict in the social harmony of our society.
AFIC rejects the blurring of the discussion that leads to the assumption that an attack on Israel or Zionism is anti-Semitic.
In the statement, AFIC denounces anti-Semitism in all its forms and stresses the importance of separating valid criticism of Israel’s government policies and actions, and anti-Semitism, which is hostility, hatred, or discrimination against Jews as a religious group.
AFIC also acknowledges the complexity and diversity of views within the global Jewish community regarding Zionism and Israel’s policies.
AFIC supports the importance of preserving the right to free speech and the critical examination of all governments’ policies, including those of Israel, within the framework of international law and human rights standards.
The organization also urges informed, respectful, and constructive discourse that distinguishes between political criticism and racial or religious hatred.
In summary, AFIC asserts that the difference between criticising Israel and being anti-Semitic is essential to promoting a world that values dialogue, respects human rights, and strongly opposes bigotry.
More information is available on the AFIC website:
https://afic.com.au/2024/03/the-distinction-between-criticism-of-israel-and-antisemitism/
Having been involved in fighting fascism since the 1960s and working with progressive Jews who had a deep understanding of Nazism and anti-Semitism over many years the horrors of the Holocaust are very real..
It is hard for non-Jews to understand the fear that the extermination campaign of the Nazis had upon the Jewish community. The very identity of Jew was a death sentence. For the hatred of the time to have been so lethal is a warning to the world. Racism is lethal.
European Jew hatred goes back centuries but it is not universal. Jews were safe in the rest of the world, particularly the Muslim world where they were recogniosed as People of the Book.
The issue of hatred is very much linked to the rise of the Jewish supremacist state of Israel. Jews were persecutued in many countries after 1948 by many nationalist regimes in the Arab world. The Nakhba and the treatment of Palestinians since then by Israel has been disgusting.
It is justified to criticise Israel for its supremacist policies but it is not justified to claim all Jews are supremacists or supporters of genocide.
The degree of Israeli lobby penetration into our mass media and political systems has been made apparent in the Gaza massacres and defence of Israel by the political establshment. The defence of justice by a growing section of the Jewish community should not be overlooked.
There is a real danger of a growth in anti-Semitism with the rise of the extreme right and we should maintain our Islamic values and distinguish between opposing Israel and hating Jews. Traditionally the Muslims have defended Jews from Heraclius who wanted to convert all Jews to Christianity, down to Hitler who wanted to exterminate them.
The Zionists love to wheel out the Mufti of Jerisalem and Hitler but never mention he was appointed by Samuels the British commissioner of Palestine.
Robert Satloff Among the Righteous gives the real picture.