ECAJ statement of support for the Australian Indian and Hindu communities.

The peak, elected, rep­res­ent­at­ive body of the Aus­trali­an Jewish community, the ECAJ, has spoken up strongly in support of the Aus­trali­an Indian and Hindu com­munit­ies following polemical attacks against them by a par­lia­ment­ari­an and at recent public events, and physical attacks against Hindu places of worship.

“The Indian and Hindu com­munit­ies have made an outsize con­tri­bu­tion to Australia’s economy and society for gen­er­a­tions”, said ECAJ President Daniel Aghion.

“They are hard-working, family-oriented and peace-loving com­munit­ies, and it is a national disgrace that they have been publicly vilified from any quarter. We empathise com­pletely with what they are going through, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with them.”

“It was not so long ago that hate crimes against places of worship, and other hate-filled behaviour against entire ethnic and religious com­munit­ies, were unthink­able in Australia, and it is sobering to reflect on how often this occurs now. Ulti­mately, the deteri­or­a­tion in social cohesion makes all Aus­trali­ans less safe than we used to be.”

“We call upon Australia’s political and community leaders to speak up and unite in sup­port­ing the Aus­trali­an Indian and Hindu com­munit­ies, and in denoun­cing racial and religious hatred against any community as a blight on our nation’s dignity.”