By Jordy Silverstein On March 25 2004 it was reported by the Hobart Mercury that “immigration minister Amanda Vanstone said yesterday she had received letters from primary school children calling her a racist pig.” Apparently, “she said she was not offended by the abusive letters but annoyed children had been influenced to write such things.” […]
As many would be aware, One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts will be coming to Caulfield to spruik their divisive and racist politics to the Jewish community. Along with many others in the Jewish community, AJDS stands firmly opposed to the ideas which they put forward, standing instead for principles and practices of […]
In November of 2015, the Victorian government implemented its Forest Industry Taskforce, following Daniel’s election promise. The taskforce, funded by the Victorian government, brings together various interest groups representing unions and environment groups to develop policy recommendations for the future of Victoria’s forests. The Taskforce will seek broad community support to address key challenges facing […]
Like many around the country, members of the AJDS were appalled watching the Four Corners episode last Monday which told the stories of the brutality of Don Dale prison. Although these stories have been previously reported on and shared – particularly by Aboriginal peoples, groups, and media – it was this airing which captured the […]
The AJDS issued a statement 11/06/16 critical of the decision by Stephanie Hodgins-May, Greens candidate for Melbourne Ports, to pull out of the Zionist Victoria event. We stated: “we feel that it’s important that local candidates be prepared to address and engage with audiences in their electorate.” Whilst this move by Stephanie has been hurtful to […]
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS) is disappointed that Greens candidate for Melbourne Ports, Stephanie Hodgins-May, has decided to withdraw from the candidates forum organised by the Australian Jewish News and Zionism Victoria (ZV). While Hodgins-May may disagree with the politics of these groups – she has specifically mentioned ZV’s attitude towards the United Nations […]
Read “Jews, Refugees and the (im)possibility of history”, an insightful piece by Max Kaiser, about the formation and reformation of Jews For Refugees, published in Overland earlier this month: A few years ago I received a phone call from the current Energy and Resources minister, Josh Frydenberg. He called me in response to an email I had sent […]
By Robin Rothfield HOW should we Jews react to the worldwide refugee crisis? In light of the attacks in Paris, there are those who argue we should close our borders. The attacks resulted in around 130 deaths. This is horrendous and demonstrates the complete lack of respect for the sanctity of human life by the […]
In September 2015 the AJDS wrote a petition to end Palestinian house demolitions in Susiya and the West Bank. Read about and sign our petition here. In response to our request that the Australian government act to stop this injustice, Julie Bishop wrote to the AJDS on November 18: …Thank you for your letter of October 2015, attaching […]
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society condemns the Coalition government’s decision to join the bombing campaign against Syria. This military intervention will do nothing to bring down Assad or ISIS, but rather will contribute to the daily toll of human life in that region of the world. The power tensions in the region cannot be resolved […]