Call to halt Islamic Council’s funding

Jewish community leaders have condemned a “sickening” attempt by Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) president Adel Salman to justify the October 7 massacres – and have called for funding to the Muslim peak body to be withdrawn.

The onslaught on October 7 saw some 1200 Jews murdered, many more raped and brutalised, and hundreds of hostages abducted to Gaza – the worst single attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

Salman spoke on ABC radio on Wednesday about the ICV’s plan to boycott Premier Jacinta Allan’s annual Iftar dinner, on the urging of an open letter circulated by Islamic leaders among Victorian Muslims citing “apathy, at all levels of government” over Palestinians.

Describing the Hamas pogroms as “resistance”, Salman told the ABC interviewer, “What we don’t denounce, very clearly, is legitimate acts of resistance and for the Palestinians to rise up on October 7 and say we are no longer going to tolerate this siege, this occupation, that is legitimate.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin condemned Salman’s attempt to defend as resistance the “mass slaughter, abduction, rape of young girls at gunpoint as their families were forced to watch; the carnage at a dance festival”.

“The events of October 7 served no military or political purpose beyond violating large numbers of people in the most brutal ways imaginable. It has also directly resulted in a war that has caused great suffering on the Palestinian side.”

The Jewish Community Council of Victoria has asked for funding to the ICV to be halted and for the Victorian government to follow up earlier efforts to ensure ICV vice-president Mohamed Mohideen removes hateful content from his social media page.

“Standing up against terrorism, such as that which took place on October 7 in Israel, is an Australian value. Australians do not condone terrorism. Victorians expect a lot more from community leaders; they cannot support terrorism. Victorians also expect that government-appointed leaders will not harass young Victorians online.

“The government needs to step in, reconsider funding to the ICV if the organisation does not distance itself from Mr Salman’s views,” the Victorian Jewish roof body stated.

Zionism Victoria president Yossi Goldfarb stated, “If Mr Salman thinks that wholesale slaughter, mass rape and the kidnapping and butchering of innocent people in front of their families is legitimate, then he is a menace and a clear and present danger to Australia’s multicultural society.

“The only aspect of his comments that could be described as legitimate is the inherent antisemitism that drips from every word.

“Unfortunately, Mr Salman has form. After police clearly stated that last November’s Burgertory fire in Caulfield was not racially motivated, the Islamic Council of Victoria perpetrated a blood libel against the Jewish and Zionist communities by insisting the attack was racially motivated. Notwithstanding the recent arrests of the alleged perpetrators and more clarity around the circumstances, no retraction or apology has been issued.

“Mr Salman’s comments will only incite more antisemitism and even more attacks on Jews. The Islamic community, and indeed the broader Victorian community, deserve better leaders. It is inconceivable to think that government leaders engage with this man at all. The government certainly dodged a bullet when he decided to withdraw from the Premier’s Iftar event.”

Condemning Salman’s words as ““outrageous and indefensible”, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein said they represented “a major blow to Australian multiculturalism, which requires adherence to certain core national values, particularly mutual respect and tolerance”.

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich said Salman “has let down anyone who believes in compassion and humanity”.

After igniting the furore, Salman appeared to moderate his stance on Wednesday afternoon, stating on Facebook, “The ICV condemns the killing of innocent civilians on October 7. Just as we condemn the killing of innocent civilians by Israeli forces before and after October 7.”