Dr Moshe Farchi received apologies for being uninvited to Gold Coast conference
The Executive Director of the Australia & New Zealand Mental Health Association has apologised to Israeli trauma specialist Dr Moshe Farchi and the Australian Jewish community for the decision to disinvite Dr Farchi from the Frontline Mental Health Conference on the Gold Coast earlier this month.
Dr Moshe Farchi
This matters because the idea that an individual could be excluded from an event on the basis of their identity or nationality is appalling and, in the words of the statement below, risks becoming a dangerous precedent that undermines Australian multicultural society. Prof Morris’s feeling the need to admit that his organisation erred and to apologise helps prevent this from happening.
The Zionist Federation of Australia, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, and the Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism have welcomed Prof Morris’s important intervention.
The Executive Director of the Australia New Zealand Mental Health Association, Prof Philip Morris, has candidly acknowledged the error, labelling it as “wrong” and “a big mistake”.
He carried the association’s heartfelt and unreserved apology to Dr Moshe Farchi and the Australian Jewish community for the regrettable decision to rescind Dr Farchi’s invitation to the Frontline Mental Health Conference.
Leaders of the Australian Jewish community has welcomed Prof Morris’s sincerity and apology, recognising the gravity of his remarks. Prof Morris conveyed his sentiments during a webinar hosted by the Zionist Federation of Australia, with over 500 members of the Jewish community registered to attend.
ZFA CEO Alon Cassuto said, “We welcome Prof Morris’s unequivocal apology. It is deeply worrying that the threat of violence would see any organisation give in to demands and cancel an expert professional and public intellectual of the calibre of Dr Farchi based on their identity and nationality.”
Mr Cassuto continued, “By setting the record straight, making clear the ANZMHA’s commitment to reimburse Dr Farchi and, more importantly, announcing that Dr Farchi would be invited to address ANZMHA members in the future, Prof Morris has expressed not only his remorse, but also a genuine desire to prevent this incident from becoming a dangerous precedent that undermines Australian multicultural society.”
