ECAJ welcomes Prime Minister’s announcement of a Royal Commission into Antisemitism

The president of the Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry (ECAJ), Daniel Aghion KC, today welcomed the announce­ment by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to establish a Com­mon­wealth Royal Com­mis­sion into antisemitism across the nation espe­cially since 7 October 2023, and the cir­cum­stances leading to the Bondi Beach terrorist attack on 14 December 2025.

Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry (ECAJ) president Daniel Aghion KC said: “The gov­ern­ment has made the right decision in estab­lish­ing the Com­mon­wealth Royal Com­mis­sion and heeding the calls made by the Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry, the families affected by the Bondi Beach shootings and many others.  We are espe­cially grateful to the eminent artists, lawyers, business leaders, sporting legends, political figures, women’s organ­isa­tions and other groups who added their powerful voices to this call.

“On behalf of the Aus­trali­an Jewish community we welcome the Prime Minister’s announce­ment and expect that the terms of reference of the Royal Com­mis­sion will allow an honest exam­in­a­tion of gov­ern­ment policies and the conduct and policies of key insti­tu­tions and figures in major sectors of our society in con­trib­ut­ing or failing to adequately respond to the unpre­ced­en­ted levels of antisemitism in Australia over the past two years or more.  This is the only way that Australia’s time-honoured standards of decency and fairness can be upheld.”

“The ECAJ will co-operate fully with the Royal Com­mis­sion­er the Hon. Virginia Bell AC SC and will make every effort to ensure that the full force of the community’s views and exper­i­ences of antisemitism in various sectors of society are brought to the forefront of the Inquiry”.

Mr Aghion added: “The Com­mis­sion should examine key drivers con­trib­ut­ing to antisemitism in Australia, including ideo­lo­gic­al, political and religious extremism; and assess the adequacy of gov­ern­ment, law enforce­ment, and insti­tu­tion­al responses. It should review legal frame­works, security measures, and pre­vent­at­ive programs – including the extent to which the Jewish Community should reas­on­ably be required to protect itself and fund that pro­tec­tion, as well as the role of uni­ver­sit­ies, trade unions, political parties, media, social media platforms, and funding sources in amp­li­fy­ing antisemitism.

“Special attention should be given to immig­ra­tion controls, online campaigns, and the cir­cum­stances relating to the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, with a view to identi­fy­ing lessons and reforms. The Com­mis­sion should also provide action­able recom­mend­a­tions to coun­ter­act and prevent mani­fest­a­tions of antisemitism, strengthen pro­tec­tions, improve coordin­a­tion, ensure the safety and wellbeing of Jewish Aus­trali­ans and strengthen the national consensus in support of democracy freedom and the rule of law.

“Given the breadth of issues involved, the Com­mis­sion should comprise a Com­mis­sion­er and spe­cial­ist advisers having expertise and exper­i­ence inter alia, in: under­stand­ing and coun­ter­act­ing antisemitism; and counter-extremism, coun­terter­ror­ism, policing and law enforce­ment.”