The Jewish Council of Australia has praised Greater Dandenong and Casey councillors for declining invites to an antisemitism forum on the Gold Coast.
The JCA has called for mayors and councillors to boycott what it terms a “pro-Israel political junket” disguised as a “community safety initiative.”
The forum was “designed to push a one-sided political agenda, silencing legitimate criticism of Israel by conflating it with antisemitism,” the JCA claimed.
The Australian Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism forum from 3-5 September is run by the US-based Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).
Australia’s Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, is one of the summit speakers along with mayor of Gold Coast Tom Tate.
As previously reported by Star Journal, City of Greater Dandenong’s mayor Jim Memeti and councillors such as Melinda Yim and Rhonda Garad have declined the all-expense paid event.
Cr Garad criticised Victoria’s Minister for Local Government Nick Staikos over his lack of condemnation of the event.
“He seems to have no concern that this summit is trying to introduce unfair levels of privilege for one group across the whole of local government.
“If it was China having a summit and free trip for every councillors, handing us tools to come back and embed policies that privileged Chinese people, they would jump on this, throw the full force of everything they had at this but because it’s Israel it gets a free pass.
“The level of outrage by people I speak to understand all this, they are angered.
“Why can’t the local government minister protect the integrity of government?”
In response to her letters to the Minister’s office in July and August, Mr Staikos said it’s not appropriate for him to intervene.
This is because councils have the power to make resolutions on any matter “that they believe affects their communities” if done lawfully and in accordance to their obligation under equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws, he stated.
“As you are aware, the Act requires councillors to submit regular personal interests returns, declare any conflicts of interest regarding council matters and remove themselves from the decision-making process in relation to matters for which they have a conflict of interest.
“I also note each council is required to adopt a councillor gift policy, which councillors are required to comply with.”
In a media statement, the JCA praised “councillors, including in Greater Dandenong and Casey, (who) have already refused to attend” – a move that was “the right thing to do given the blind support for Israel’s genocidal war by conference organisers.”
“While some participants in the conference may have taken CAM at face value and been unaware of its links to the Israeli and Trump administrations, we are asking anyone of conscience to pull out now,” JCA executive officer Max Kaiser said.
CAM is also well-known for “smearing pro-Palestine academics” and linked to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, said to be complicit in the starvation and murder of Palestinians, the JCA claims.
The forum is said to host more than 200 local government leaders and community advocates from across the country in a first of its kind event in Australia.
