Mark Oughton-Nicholls, Secretary, Free Palestine Ballaarat || At the July 23 2025 meeting of the Ballarat City Council, a devastating decision was confirmed: the Council had chosen to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) “working definition” of antisemitism to assess local speech and advocacy. This decision, made without transparency or meaningful consultation with anti-Zionist Jewish groups or Palestinian advocates, is not only flawed — it is dangerous.
The IHRA definition has long been the subject of international debate. While it purports to identify antisemitism, in practice it has been used repeatedly to conflate criticism of Israel with hatred of Jewish people. Critics of the definition — including lawyers, human rights experts, Jewish scholars and even one of its own original drafters — have warned that its vagueness and political misuse risk undermining the very fight against genuine antisemitism.
This risk is no longer theoretical. Ballarat Council have assessed that certain criticisms of the State of Israel were deemed antisemitic — a claim directly aligned with the misapplication of antisemitism definitions. No clear explanation was given, and the community was left with no indication that relevant Jewish voices opposing Zionism were ever consulted.
Let us be clear: criticism of the Israeli state — including its well-documented apartheid policies, its mass imprisonment of Palestinians without charge, and its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza — is not antisemitism. It is advocacy for human rights. In fact, this point has just been reaffirmed by the Federal Court of Australia.
Earlier this month, the Court ruled that while antisemitic abuse directed at Jewish Australians breaches the Racial Discrimination Act, criticism of Israel, Zionism, or the Israeli military does not. These, the court found, are matters of public concern — political and ideological, not ethnic or religious — and are protected forms of speech when made in good faith.
Council’s decision is now at odds with federal law. Worse, the decision to use the IHRA definition comes at a time when the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels. More than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023. Entire families have been wiped out. Schools, hospitals, and even designated “safe zones” have been bombed. The acronym WCNSF — Wounded Child, No Surviving Family — now exists because of the scale of destruction.
In such a moment, Ballarat should stand on the side of justice — not suppress the voices of those calling for it.
Our community has already shown that spirit. Last year, a peace pilgrimage from Daylesford to Ballarat drew people of all faiths and none, united in a shared call for ceasefire and compassion. Over the past 18 months, Free Palestine Ballaarat has held packed-out screenings, talks, and forums — including with Jewish speakers who reject Zionism — offering space for meaningful dialogue and solidarity.
The decision to use the IHRA definition cuts across that spirit. It undermines the ability of our community to speak out against injustice, to name apartheid for what it is, and to demand accountability where it is due. It risks chilling public debate on one of the most urgent human rights crises of our time.
Free Palestine Ballaarat are urging the Council to reverse this decision. True antisemitism must be condemned and fought without hesitation. But suppressing legitimate, lawful criticism of Israel — especially when it is rooted in international law and human rights — helps no one, and only serves to diminish the integrity of our public institutions.
Ballarat deserves better. Our city should be a place where justice, free expression, and human dignity are defended — not where they are silenced under the guise of tolerance.
