To download the sub­mis­sion in PDF format, please click here.

The Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry (ECAJ) had made a formal sub­mis­sion in response to the Review by the Par­lia­ment­ary Joint Committee on Intel­li­gence and Security (PJCIS) of the relisting of Hizbal­lah’s External Security Organ­isa­tion as a terrorist organ­isa­tion under the Criminal Code (Cth). Whilst sup­port­ing the decision of the Minister for Home Affairs to proscribe the so-called ‘External Security Organ­isa­tion’ (ESO) of Hizballah as a terrorist organ­isa­tion, the ECAJ has taken issue with the fact that the listing has once again been limited to the ESO, while the other elements of Hizballah have been excluded.

Extracts from the sub­mis­sion:

“Hizballah is pro­sec­ut­ing a long war of anni­hil­a­tion against the State of Israel and it sees Jewish com­munit­ies every­where as targets of oppor­tun­ity in that war. It appears that no country is immune from possible future terrorist attacks by Hizballah and that pre­par­at­ory activ­it­ies are ongoing in many parts of the world…The threat posed by Hizballah is heightened by its role as a proxy for the governing regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“To accept simplist­ic­ally that the internal func­tion­al divisions within Hizballah signify the existence of discrete organ­isa­tions is to endorse a fiction. In reality, there is a seamless integ­ra­tion between all facets of the organ­isa­tion in chain of command, finances and personnel. This reality has been confirmed in the listing practices of other States and by the public state­ments made in support of those practices. It has also been confirmed in state­ments made by senior Hizballah com­mand­ers them­selves. By their own admission, respons­ib­il­ity for terrorist activ­it­ies reaches to the highest levels of command within Hizballah. It follows that Hizballah in its entirety, and not merely the ESO, meets the Criminal Code require­ments for pro­scrip­tion.”

“Alto­geth­er, 22 countries and 2 regional organ­isa­tions currently list Hizballah as a whole as a terrorist organ­isa­tion. Two countries and one regional organ­isa­tion limit their listing to the ‘Military Wing’. Australia alone limits its listing to the ESO.”

“Except for Israel, the countries…which have pro­scribed Hizballah in its entirety have also managed to maintain friendly relations with Lebanon. It is clearly possible to do both.”

“Given its history around the world and in Australia, it is evident that the activ­it­ies of Hizballah as a whole represent a security threat, a threat to social cohesion and a crime risk to all Aus­trali­ans, and to the Aus­trali­an Jewish community in par­tic­u­lar. We have therefore advocated for some time that Australia list Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organ­isa­tion, as have the other like-minded countries referred to pre­vi­ously.”

“Because Hizballah operates with one heart and mind, the pretence that its internal divisions of labour represent discrete organ­isa­tions poten­tially ham­strings Australia’s security and law enforce­ment agencies in pro­tect­ing Aus­trali­ans from future terrorist activ­it­ies by Hizballah of the kind they have carried on in other parts of the world.”

“[A]lthough for the reasons already provided we would consider it an inad­equate measure, Australia’s listing of Hizballah should, at a minimum, be extended to the whole of the operation nominally con­trolled by the military council, namely the so-called ‘Military Wing’ of Hizballah, and should not be limited to the ESO.”

The entire sub­mis­sion can be accessed here.