Mehreen Faruqi to sit on committee considering campus antisemitism
‘Senator Faruqi has to explain her motivation for being on this committee,’ says Julian Leeser
Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said this week that Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi sitting on an inquiry into antisemitism on campus “exposes victims … to further harm” and “could also deter victims from giving evidence”.
The Australian reported on Monday that Faruqi is to be substituted for Greens Legal Affairs spokesperson Senator David Shoebridge on the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, for its inquiry on whether to hold a Royal Commission into antisemitism at universities.
Member for Berowra Julian Leeser called it “extraordinary” that the Greens have replaced their Legal Affairs spokesperson, “the person who is most able to make arguments about whether a judicial inquiry or some other body is able to is best placed to deal with these issues, with a Senator who doesn’t have any background or expertise in this area”.
“I think Senator Faruqi has to explain her motivation for being on this committee,” he said.
“Senator Faruqi has a long history of being antagonistic to the interests of the Jewish community in Australia and I think that she’s not the appropriate Senator to represent the Greens on this committee.”
Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson called Faruqi’s position on the committee “inflammatory” in an interview on Sky News.
“We want Jewish students and staff who have endured so much distress and harm on certain university campuses, to feel confident, to be able to come and sit before the inquiry and tell us their stories, and that’s extremely difficult in that sort of environment,” she said.
“I would like to see this situation fixed.”
Ryvchin said having Faruqi on the committee “compromises the integrity of the commission”.
“The Greens have acted as the parliamentary wing of the anti-Israel movement and have materially supported groups engaged in antisemitic conduct in addition to their own shameful antics directed at our community,” he said.
“The Greens should carefully study the testimonies of Jewish academics and students to fully understand the exclusion, abuse and harassment they have contributed to.”
Faruqi was last week accused of “a witch-hunt targeting mainstream Jewish organisations” after she moved an unsuccessful Senate motion for all correspondence between the Australian Human Rights Commission and the ECAJ, Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) and NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) to be made public.
Bruce Hill contributed to this report.
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