Divided over vilification laws
Questions remain over Victoria’s anti-vilification laws as no convictions have been secured since reforms.
Victoria’s strengthened anti-vilification laws have produced no convictions since taking effect, raising questions about whether the changes will deliver meaningful outcomes for the Jewish community.
Amendments earlier this year removed the requirement for the Director of Public Prosecutions to approve prosecutions before charges could be laid.
Jewish Community Council of Victoria CEO Naomi Levin said the change was a step forward, but cautioned it was too early to judge.
“Removing the barrier, which was DPP approval, is a real step in the right direction, but we need to give these laws time to be implemented, for police to become familiar with them, and for charges to be laid before we can really judge whether it’s satisfactory.”
Levin acknowledged a broader erosion of confidence.
“There’s been a breakdown of trust between the Jewish community and police and government, because we’ve seen so many really challenging incidents of vilification go unprosecuted.”
Some question whether further reforms really addresses the underlying problem.
Jewish activist Menachem Vorchheimer argued the new laws were unlikely to make a meaningful difference, because the key legislative gaps had already been addressed under existing provisions.
“There is no evidence that there is any difference since recent changes to the laws came into place. Victoria has had a legal framework to deal with racism against Jews for 25 years,” he said.
Vorchheimer believes the problem is enforcement, not extra legal power.
He said systemic government issues had undermined confidence that antisemitic offences would be properly investigated and prosecuted, and further legislation would do little unless authorities showed greater willingness to use the laws already available.
“The issue in Victoria is not an absence of laws. It is an institution-wide issue that accepts racism against Jews. The government gives taxpayer grants to organisations with deeply racist views against Jews … no government that funds such rhetoric can be taken seriously.”
The collapse of two recent prosecutions has sharpened those concerns. On May 21, a teenager had 109 charges dropped over a crime spree that partially targeted the Jewish community. On June 2, a Victorian magistrate acquitted pro-Palestinian activist Hashem Tayeh on four charges relating to the statement “All Zionists are terrorists”, with a fifth charge pending a constitutional challenge.
Levin said the JCCV would continue to monitor prosecutions and push for improvements, urging patience.
“If we see evidence that they’re not effective, we’ll continue to work with government to strengthen them and to protect all Jewish Victorians.”