Federation hails ‘clarity’ as IHRA definition adopted

The Australasian Jewish Medical Federation (Victoria) has welcomed the decision by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as a reference tool in its regulatory work.

The adoption was announced this week in a joint statement with Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal.

AJMF (Vic.) president Dr Jack Green said the change gave regulators long-awaited clarity.

“What you have is clarity, and then it makes it clear where the line is drawn.”

Green said the medical profession has a problem with antisemitism expressed in various guises, and that complaints have previously been handled unsatisfactorily, leading to recidivism and a “revolving door” of reoffending.

He said the definition still allowed legitimate criticism of Israel.

“People who want to be fair and not antisemitic won’t have a problem with the IHRA definition. It allows legitimate criticism of the actions of the State of Israel and its government.”

Dr Green cited an instance in which a senior practitioner had described Israel’s actions in the Gaza war as “perpetrating a holocaust”, which he said was “absolutely wrong” and “incredibly offensive” to a community with a large proportion of Holocaust survivor families.

“We have a right to cultural sensitivity, we have a right to be protected from antisemitism, just like any other minority group,” he said.

He warned that antisemitism “starts with antisemitic tropes, moves into hate speech, moves into violence, and ultimately, as we saw in Bondi, mass murder”, and said the adoption would give regulators “a bit of extra teeth”.

Green said enforcement needs to be matched by education, with antisemitism modules rolled out to medical students, specialist colleges and hospital employees.

The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) also applauded the decision, describing the IHRA definition as the global standard.

“To combat a problem, it’s important to be able to define it,” executive director Colin Rubenstein said. He added the move would not target practitioners for lawful advocacy.

The adoption has drawn opposition.

More than 1400 practitioners and 60 organisations have signed an open letter to AHPRA chief executive Justin Untersteiner warning it could “target practitioners for lawful advocacy”.

The letter was initiated by Health Workers 4 Palestine South Australia and signed by groups including the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and Australia and New Zealand Doctors for Palestine.

Untersteiner, meanwhile, appeared at Senate estimates last week. Under questioning from Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg, Untersteiner confirmed AHPRA would adopt the IHRA definition following the release of Segal’s report on operationalising it, telling the hearing the agency had “no tolerance for discrimination or racism in our system whatsoever”.

He said AHPRA was also reviewing its framework for handling vexatious complaints, after engagement with the Jewish community and recent research validated concerns that such complaints were being used to target Jewish practitioners. The review would be guided by a panel of practitioners with lived experience, with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry advising on the process.

Untersteiner said 34 of 126 racism and discrimination complaints received this financial year related to antisemitism.