London Declaration signed in SA
SOUTH Australian members of Parliament gathered to sign the London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism last week at an event held to officially launch the South Australian Parliamentary Friends of Israel.
SOUTH Australian members of Parliament gathered to sign the London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism last week at an event held to officially launch the South Australian Parliamentary Friends of Israel.
After a motion urging parliamentarians to sign the document was passed unanimously in South Australian Parliament in July, 16 MPs from various political parties added their signatures to the pledge at the Parliament House of South Australia last Wednesday evening.
Labor Member for Taylor Leesa Vlahos MP and Liberal Member for Morialta John Gardner MP are co-conveners of the newly established Parliamentary Friends of Israel group, and co-sponsored the private members motion last month.
Vlahos pointed out that the signing of the declaration occurred on the same day Jewish-Australian schoolchildren were threatened with physical violence on the bus home from school.
“Regardless of what people think of the geo-political situation in the Middle East, our community should take a stand against racial discrimination in all its forms,” she said.
Speaking at the event, Gardner noted that vigilance is required by the community, particularly in the current climate.
“As community leaders, we cannot allow examples of anti-Semitism to stand unchallenged. We cannot allow anti-Semitism to become normalised in Australia’s culture,” he said.
Also present at the ceremony were Israeli Ambassador to Australia Shmuel Ben-Shmuel and Federal Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus MP.
President of the Zionist Federation of Australia Dr Danny Lamm, who similarly travelled to Adelaide for the event, said the conflict in Gaza and Israel has led to “an upsurge of anti-Semitic attacks in Australia and around the world”.
He lauded the South Australian Parliament for its initiative on this issue. “These attacks – some physical, some verbal, some online – have emphasised the importance of Australian leaders and influential figures publicly committing to the principles of the London Declaration,” he said.
The event was dedicated to the late Allen Bolaffi, a significant figure in the Jewish and wider South Australian community, who passed away suddenly and tragically in June. Notably, Bolaffi was involved in the early planning of this event.
PHOEBE ROTH
From left: Michelle Lensink MLC, Ambassador Shmuel Ben-Shmuel, Mark Dreyfus MP, John Gardner MP, Leesa Vlahos MP, Adrian Pederick MP, Vickie Chapman MP, Zoe Bettison MP, David Speirs MP.
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