The coalition
About & Resources
Who we are, the sources behind this guide, and how to reach us.
About the coalition
Understanding Antisemitism is produced by Jewish Advocates for Understanding Antisemitism drawing on the work of other Australian Jewish organisations.
Our members differ in age, religious observance and political view. Many of us are the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and of refugees who found safety in Australia. We share a conviction that antisemitism is real and must be addressed; that addressing it requires recognising it accurately; and that the safety of Jewish Australians is connected to the freedom and dignity of everyone else, including Palestinian Australians.
Supported by:
Why we developed this guide
Australians are being asked to make sense of a difficult public debate, in which the description 'antisemitic' – one of the most serious that can be applied to a person or a statement – is attached to an increasingly wide range of political expression. We developed this guide in the belief that most people, given clear definitions, accurate evidence and respect for their own judgment, are able to distinguish antisemitism from political disagreement. That distinction serves everyone: Jewish Australians, whose protection depends on the term keeping its meaning; Palestinian Australians, whose ability to describe their own history depends on it; and the wider public, whose democratic life depends on contested political questions remaining open to debate.
This guide was written by Jewish Australians holding a range of views, working together across our organisations, in the community-centred spirit that the National Anti-Racism Framework asks of anti-racism work. It represents the views of our coalition and does not claim to speak for all Jewish Australians.
Our commitments
- Accuracy. The factual claims we make are sourced, and we correct errors when they are identified to us. [Corrections email.]
- Consistency. We apply the same test in every case, including to expression we agree with, and we publish the conclusions that follow.
- Independence. This is not a government publication and is produced without government funding.
- Seriousness about all forms of racism, including antisemitism.
Resources & references
Frameworks and definitions
- Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (2021) – a scholarly definition, with guidance on Israel and Palestine.
- The Nexus Document – a definition and commentary from the United States Nexus Task Force.
- Australian Human Rights Commission, National Anti-Racism Framework (2024).
Human rights reporting on Israel
- Amnesty International, report on Israel and apartheid (2022).
- Human Rights Watch, 'A Threshold Crossed' (2021).
- B'Tselem, report on apartheid (2021).
- International Court of Justice – advisory opinion on the occupied Palestinian territory (2024), and orders in South Africa v Israel.
On the use of antisemitism definitions
- Kenneth Stern on the use of the IHRA working definition.
- European Legal Support Center – reports on the use of the IHRA definition in Europe and the United Kingdom.
- Federal Court of Australia, [2025] FCA 720 – the Court's reasoning on criticism of Israel and Zionism and racial vilification.
- Supreme Court of New South Wales, State of New South Wales v Farhat [2026] NSWSC 985 — Fagan J on the IHRA definition and the distinction between antisemitism and criticism of Israel.
Contact
contact@understandingantisemitism.org. We read all correspondence, though we are not able to reply individually to every message.