AUJS, ZFA and ZV at parliament
Southwick told The AJN, "The AUJS-ZFA survey has made one thing incredibly clear: we are not doing enough to provide a safe place for students on campus."
Deputy Liberal leader David Southwick hosted representatives from the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS), the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) and Zionism Victoria at Parliament last Thursday to discuss the recent AUJS-ZFA survey.
The group briefed Opposition Leader John Pesutto and Liberal colleagues on the findings, before having a discussion on strengthening a bipartisan approach to fighting antisemitism.
Pesutto then adjourned debate in the Legislative Assembly, to instead debate a motion put forward by Southwick last Tuesday.
It called for the House to note “the worrying, but deeply important” findings of the survey, affirmed a bipartisan commitment to fighting antisemitism and called on the Education Minister to bring stakeholders together to work towards a solution.
Southwick told The AJN, “The AUJS-ZFA survey has made one thing incredibly clear: we are not doing enough to provide a safe place for students on campus.”
ZFA public affairs director Bren Carlill said, “We all agreed that, given the importance of the issue, it should be dealt with in a bipartisan fashion. I look forward to discussing the survey results with the Victorian government.
“We have no doubt that, at both the federal and state level, we can count on strong bipartisan support for actions that reduce antisemitism on campuses.”
Southwick and Labor MP Paul Hamer, Victoria’s two Jewish MPs and co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Israel, further discussed the issue with the AUJS representatives. AUJS’ Noah Loven said they appreciated the opportunity to discuss the severity of the results.
“It’s reassuring to know that the voices of Jewish students are being heard and acknowledged at such high levels in a bipartisan manner,” he said.
Pesutto said, “Hearing the shocking firsthand experiences of Jewish students like Paris and Noah on campus was a sobering reminder of how much work we have to do. We can never simply stand by and ignore hate, which is why I will do everything I can to fight antisemitism.”
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