Pro-Israel group gets $102m handout in budget
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry to receive taxpayer funding “for enhanced security for the Jewish community”.
This is a late budget special with the federal government releasing its budget papers this evening.
The Albanese government will spend $604.2m over five years (starting from 2025-26) as part of its response to the Bondi shooting.
Taxpayer funds will go toward improving security for the Jewish community through the Community Security Group – an Israeli-trained volunteer group permitted to carry arms. Funds have also been allocated to implement Special Envoy Jillian Segal’s controversial plan to combat antisemitism in the education sector.
Details of the funding are as follows:
$131.1m for the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion
$102m to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry – widely considered the nation’s most prominent pro-Israel lobby group
$20m to the Department of Education to expand the Together for Humanity Program to “address social cohesion, including antisemitism and racism” through resources for teachers
$10m to support Jillian Segal’s UNESCO-backed program to train teachers on antisemitism and conduct “a focused review of the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework”
$6m to create an online teacher resources hub to provide guidance on strengthening social cohesion, “with a focus on antisemitism in schools”
$1m for the eSafety Commissioner to provide “online safety advice to address antisemitism”
$13.6m to implement new anti-migration measures, including visa refusals, as part of antisemitism laws passed in January
$4.4m for a closed non-competitive grant opportunity for priority projects in the Chabad of Bondi
$22m to support security and infrastructure upgrades to the Hakoah Club
Free speech chill
The significant funding comes amid a widening chill on free speech related to Israel, with the Australian Public Service already implementing the IHRA definition of antisemitism – which includes criticism of Israel – across its workforce.
ECAJ was also invited to train federal prosecutors on Zionism and antisemitism earlier this month.
Budget week is also coinciding with the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, which has heard numerous testimonies – including from pro-Israel lobby groups – seeking to equate antisemitism with Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Zionism and Israel.
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Meanwhile Islamophobia register Australia won’t have any commonwealth funding - that $1m was just a once off a couple of years ago.
(There has never been cth govt funding for anti Palestinian racism victim support)
Astonishing…