The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is set to begin its first block of hearings on Monday, following the presentation of an interim report regarding the Bondi Beach massacre.
The commission, formed in the wake of the December terrorist attack to investigate government and societal failings, will hold the hearings through May 15.
The first hearings will focus on defining antisemitism and examining its historical and contemporary manifestations, and listening to the experiences of Jewish Australians, as well as on metrics for assessing levels of antisemitism in institutions and society.
Several major Jewish Australian institutions said in a joint statement that the hearings would be an opportunity for community members to have their voices heard, and that they hoped the commission would use their testimonies to develop practical recommendations.
“Giving evidence about these experiences takes courage,” said the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Australian Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, Zionist Federation of Australia, National Council of Jewish Women Australia, Dor Foundation, New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, and Jewish Community Council of Victoria.
“Many of those appearing are speaking publicly for the first time. They are doing so because they believe this country can be better and because they want the commissioner to hear their truths and recommend changes that will make all Australians safer.”
The Jewish groups said that students would speak about rising campus hostility, while congregants would share what it was like to visit Jewish sites under armed guard and how workplaces had become uncomfortable.
Antisemitism in ‘nearly every part of Australian Jewish life’
“Their accounts will give the commission a clear picture of how discrimination has touched nearly every part of Australian Jewish life, and it does not reflect the Australia we have loved and contributed to for generations.”
Ahead of the first hearing block, the commission released its interim report about failings in Australia’s security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies.
“Our inquiry revealed some respects in which counter-terrorism capability at Commonwealth and state levels might be improved,” Commissioner Virginia Bell said.
The interim report included 14 recommendations, though five of them were confidential. One was that New South Wales Police operations should also apply high-level security procedures, lately introduced for the High Holy Days, to other Jewish festivals and events.
Most of the recommendations touched on coordination and leadership for Australia’s counter-terrorism infrastructure, as the report detailed gaps in information sharing, old plans, and failures in coordination. It was suggested that the Commonwealth Counter Terrorism Coordinator become a full-time role.
The prime minister and other cabinet members were recommended to hold a counter-terrorism exercise within nine months of each federal election, and to update the Counter Terrorism Handbook immediately – and again at three-year intervals.
The recommendations also included calls to implement an updated National Firearms Agreement and to prioritize a National Gun Buyback scheme. The two Bondi Beach terrorists had used firearms that were legally obtained, leading to debates about firearm restrictions.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that his government welcomed the report and accepted all the recommendations. He also noted that Bell found that the existing legal and regulatory framework neither hindered nor prevented agencies from responding to the massacre.
Yet the NSW Jewish Board and JCCV emphasized the report’s acknowledgement that the threat environment had deteriorated in the lead-up to the attack and, while the risk to Jews had been identified by Australian intelligence and security agencies, some measures had not been taken.
The NSW Police had reportedly been warned by the Jewish community, which requested a security detail for the fated Hanukkah event.
