Joseph Wakim theguardian.com, Monday 14 July 2014
Comments by the chair of the NSW community relations commission have inflamed tensions between Arab and Jewish Australians at a sensitive time
'His role is to prevent this kind of stone throwing, not engage in it.' Photograph: Supplied
When former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell appointed the incumbent CEO of the NSW Jewish board of deputies, Vic Alhadeff, to the chair of the community relations commission (CRC) in December last year, did he think Alhadeff could straddle both roles?
Having been a commissioner myself, under both Labor and Liberal governments, I am acutely aware that this statutory body demands ambassadors of harmony. Yet a recent release, disseminated among his Jewish constituents, has achieved the opposite effect.
Wearing his CEO hat, Alhadeff issued a community update on 9 July, titled "Israel under Fire: Important points about Operation Protective Edge". His statement reached the Arab Australian community and went viral.
In the post he condemned the "Hamas terror organisation" for its "attacks on Israeli civilians", for "violating international law and engaging in war crimes as its militants launch rockets indiscriminately at civilians from civilian areas".
His statement failed to condemn the collective punishment and indiscriminate attacks against Gaza. As chairman, his role is to prevent this kind of stone throwing, not engage in it.
Community relations commissioners are not appointed to advocate for foreign governments. We are tasked with bringing local leaders together, as neutral arbiters. A Jewish colleague of mine, from my time in Melbourne, is a lifelong friend; we were part-time commissioners but full-time ambassadors. Whatever our other roles, we worked together, cautiously, to extinguish sparks before they became fires.
When he accepted the chairman’s position, he declared that he was “passionate about the need to advance social harmony and combat racism”. The Jewish board of deputies espouses the same view; its goals include combating all forms of racism. Alhadeff has spoken out in favour of retaining section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act and opposes all forms of racial vilification. Yet he makes an exception, when Israel vilifies Arabs.
His statement copy-pastes the Frequently Asked Questions from Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs. The references to Israel as "we" and "our operation" under his name raises serious questions about whether he can truly be an ambassador for community harmony.
He refers to "self defence in response", "operating with care" and "pinpoint technologies to hit targeted infrastructure". Yet he fails to explain, or even mention, how Israeli strikes had already killed Gazan children and civilians by the time his release was published. The Gazan fatalities now exceed 160.
The release refers to the "recent kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers", but not the recent burning alive of a 15 year old Palestinian student, even though Alhadeff personally tweeted his dismay. Neither did it mention the countless Palestinian children who are snatched from their beds, never to be seen again, and never to attract global condemnation.
What message does his statement send to half a million Australian citizens of Arab ancestry, many with relatives cowering under beds in Gaza? Would such statements build bridges and community relations, or build a wall between us and them?
Alhadeff has neither retracted nor apologised for his statement. Instead, Yair Miller, the president of the Jewish board of deputies, added insult to injury when he criticised Sunday’s pro-Palestinian rally as activists bringing “foreign conflicts to the streets of Sydney”. So it's permissible to justify a foreign war on the Jewish board of deputies letterhead, but not to protest against war in the streets of your own city?
A spokesperson for Mike Baird, the NSW premier, gently rebuked Alhadeff in a statement, saying that while he "was not writing in his capacity as CRC chair ... “He has acknowledged the need to focus on issues in NSW and avoid using inappropriate language regarding overseas conflicts”.
Baird is not responsible for appointments made by his predecessor. Asking Alhadeff politely to resign for his comments, made at such a tense time, would be the moral thing to do. It would be pro-harmony. To avoid escalating tensions, it would be wise to announce a date for Alhadeff to step down – for him to essentially "give notice".
Honest dialogue may result from what has been a painful experience. It should go beyond exercising restraint about public statements, but on educating both parties about their impact on fellow human beings. Ironically, this what the chair of the community relations commission should have done in the first place.
