{"id":8649,"date":"2026-05-10T21:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T21:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/8649\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T21:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T21:30:09","slug":"bondi-royal-commission-to-hear-challenge-to-antisemitism-definition-quiz-uk-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/8649\/","title":{"rendered":"Bondi royal commission to hear challenge to antisemitism definition, quiz UK experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

A royal commission sparked by the Bondi terror attack is this week expected to hear from groups who challenge the commission’s accepted definition of antisemitism, as well as expert witnesses from the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Dozens of people from the Jewish community last week gave evidence to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, with some sessions closed to the public for security reasons.<\/p>\n

Hearings will continue this week, with some sessions to start earlier to accommodate the witnesses in overseas time zones.<\/p>\n

Royal Commissioner Virginia Bell flagged the inquiry had received a number of submissions from some Jewish people and others who believed the definition of antisemitism the inquiry adopted could be “weaponised in order to suppress criticism of Israel”.<\/p>\n

\"Virginia<\/p>\n

Former High Court Justice Virginia Bell is heading the royal commission. (Supplied: Murray Harris Photography)<\/p>\n

The inquiry has accepted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which describes a “certain perception of Jews which may be expressed as a hatred towards Jews.”<\/p>\n

“Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and\/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities,” the definition states.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Bell has granted limited leave to the Jewish Council of Australia, who are expected to appear this week, to ask questions of the expert witnesses giving evidence about the IHRA definition.<\/p>\n

The commission will continue to hear from people with lived experience of antisemitism, with previous witnesses providing examples from within schools, workplaces, sporting organisations and universities.<\/p>\n

Some witnesses have been given pseudonyms after expressing concern about potential backlash related to their appearance at the commission.<\/p>\n

\"Ms<\/p>\n

The royal commission hears from a number of anonymous witnesses due to safety concerns. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)<\/p>\n

The hearings have been heavily policed, with officers moving on and later charging a man who allegedly wore a swastika shirt outside the building<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More hearing dates announced<\/p>\n

A second block of hearings has been announced for May 25, with the sessions to focus on the circumstances surrounding the Bondi terror attack.<\/p>\n

It is expected to examine:<\/p>\n

The terrorism threat level and security environment in the lead-up to the attack;The conduct of security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies relevant to the attack, including what was known about the shooters and what was done with that information;The security arrangements for the Chanukah by the Sea event;How intelligence is utilised and shared to inform decisions made by security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies;Resourcing for counter-terrorism, and the effectiveness of current powers, systems and processes of security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n

The commission has received more than 9,600 submissions, with the majority identifying as Jewish.<\/p>\n

Antisemitism royal commission delivers first report<\/a><\/p>\n

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has released its interim report, making 14 recommendations.<\/p>\n

Most are located in New South Wales and Victoria, and a large number of submissions give examples of lived experience with antisemitism.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Bell said many who have made submissions have been interviewed by the inquiry’s solicitors.<\/p>\n

“We have assembled a team of analysts who review every submission that we receive, and each submission is referred by subject matter to our legal teams,” she said last week.<\/p>\n

“I thank all the members of the Jewish community who have already told their stories to the commission and I encourage those who have not yet made a submission to do so.”<\/p>\n

Submissions will remain open until June 14.<\/p>\n

More on the royal commission<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A royal commission sparked by the Bondi terror attack is this week expected to hear from groups who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,1544,257,2811,2799,2813,10052,1541,2812],"class_list":{"0":"post-8649","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-austrlia","10":"tag-bondi-beach-shooting","11":"tag-bondi-beach-terror-attack","12":"tag-bondi-beach-terrorist-attack","13":"tag-bondi-royal-commission","14":"tag-hearings","15":"tag-jewish-council-of-australia","16":"tag-royal-commission-on-antisemitism-and-social-cohesion","17":"tag-virginia-bell"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}