South Australian parliamentarians recommit to fight against antisemitism
Members of both Houses of the South Australian Parliament participated in a commemorative event marking the tenth anniversary of the signing of the London Declaration on Combatting Antisemitism.
Clare Scriven MP and Hon. Andrew McLachlan MP sign the London Declaration, witnessed by Prof Boaz Ganor, Ehud Ya’ari and Jeremy Jones.
Recently elected members have been signing on and other members recommitting their support for a comprehensive programme which has the backing of MPs in dozens of countries.
In the presence of Premier Steve Marshall, Jeremy Jones, Director of International and of Community Affairs of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council and the only Australian participant in the London Conference which drafted the Declaration in 2009, outlined the process leading up to the formulation of this important document.
An invited expert, he had assisted MPs from 35 countries in formulating timely and appropriate responses to the resilience and growth of antisemitism in its many forms.
He outlined the historical context of the London Declaration and noted that it is as important as ever in 2019 for all MPs of goodwill to publicly identify themselves with this campaign.
Visiting Israeli journalist and political analyst Ehud Ya’ari spoke at the event on pernicious themes of antisemitism which infect political rhetoric in the Middle East and provide significant obstacles and challenges for building mutual understanding, let alone respect.
Renowned counter-terrorism expert Boaz Ganor outlined the way in which the world view of terrorists often depend on belief in conspiracy theories and this adds to the fanatic hatred so many of them direct at Jews. The commemoration was chaired and by Labor MP Clare Scriven, with the concluding comments from The Hon. Andrew McLachlan.
Andrew McLachlan and Clare Scriven are Co-Chairs of the South Australian Parliamentary Friends of Israel, and hosted the event.
Ehud Ya’ari and Boaz Ganor were in Adelaide as guests of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, accompanied by AIJAC’s Associate Director of Public Affairs Joel Burnie, who helped organize their program.
