Cassuto joins Presidential panel on antisemitism
ZFA CEO represents Australia at President Herzog's residence alongside international Jewish leaders
Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto has represented Australian Jewry on a high-profile international panel discussing the worldwide rise in antisemitism, hosted at the official residence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The panel, moderated by Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Zvika Klein, brought together Jewish community leaders from around the globe including William Daroff (Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations), Wendy Kahn (South African Board of Deputies), Muriel Oukanin Melki (OJE France), and Rabbi Menachem Margolin (European Jewish Association).
Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism Amitai Chikli and former Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky were also in attendance at the presidential event.
The discussion centred on effective strategies to combat rising antisemitism while promoting tolerance across different regions.
“I am immensely grateful to have been able to represent Australia at the highest levels of Israeli government,” Cassuto said following the event.
“Escalating antisemitism in Australia has not gone unnoticed in Israel, and it was an empowering and informative panel discussion about how we can work together globally to strengthen Jewish and Zionist identity.”
In his remarks, Cassuto emphasised that Jewish resilience goes beyond victimhood.
“I spoke about how history has shown that Jewish resilience is not about victimhood, but about empowerment, pride, and renewal. The principles of Zionism, rooted in self-determination and unity, guide our efforts to ensure that Australian Jewry continues to flourish despite the challenges we face.”
The Presidential panel was organised just ahead of a major international conference on antisemitism in Israel which was boycotted by several prominent Jewish figures, including President Herzog and the chief rabbi of the United Kingdon, Sir Ephraim Mirvis.
They were concerned about the inclusion of some European political leaders associated with the far right, including France’s National Rally, the Sweden Democrats and the Spanish Vox party.
David Adler, President of the right leaning Australian Jewish Association was invited by the Minister for the Diaspora and Combatting Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, to be a closed session speaker.
“This suited me perfectly as it was an opportunity to provide a briefing from an Australian perspective, including some ‘home truths’ in a confidential forum”, he said.
“My presentation outlined the rise of four sources of antisemitism in Australia as coming from the Muslim community, the political and activist left-wing, some neo-Nazis, and the important but often overlooked leftist anti-Zionist Jewish antisemitism. I urged development of a strategy to deal with the Jewish antisemitism” Adler aid.
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