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Australia's envoy for combatting antisemitism has stepped up her criticism of progressive groups who she accuses of 'normalising' antisemitism. Jillian Segal has released a new report which proposes dozens of new measures to tackle anti-Jewish hate in response to what she says are emerging threats.

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00:01This builds on an earlier report from the special envoy last year where she talked about some of the threats
00:08but she said they're emerging and evolving threats, particularly in the years post the October 7 attacks in 2023 and
00:17she said the most pervasive threat now comes from what she calls modern progressive anti-Semitism where she says that
00:25social justice groups, human rights groups, unions and other
00:29sections of progressive society have in her words to some degree normalised anti-Semitism in spaces where she feels that
00:38it has been legitimised. Here she is.
00:40Well I think it is a very serious threat because it occupies middle Australia in many cases, many institutions rather
00:50than being seen as extreme on the extreme right like Nazism or the extreme left.
00:56It's being seen as quite acceptable, it's got an acceptable face to it and we need to understand that that
01:03still is anti-Semitism.
01:04So what are some of the new measures Gillian Seagull is calling for Gavin?
01:09Well the special envoy has called for a ban on face masks and special exclusion zones for areas that are
01:16sensitive and she doesn't want protests to occur.
01:18She's likened it to exclusion zones relating to abortion clinics in some states that ban protests from occurring there.
01:26She says this is something law enforcement needs to be given greater powers in order to make Jewish people feel
01:31safe.
01:31They've called for some extra tools. They need to be able to recognise the people, for example, who might be
01:38marching and calling out particular hatreds.
01:41And face masks are one of the suggestions I make, that they should be banned and I think that's already
01:47been proposed in Victoria.
01:49So it just goes through a range of measures that will assist our policemen and women being able to do
01:55their job, enforce the standards that we want as a country of behaviour not in any way to stop freedom
02:02of expression and freedom of demonstration but to balance that with the safety of minorities.
02:07Now Gillian Seagull has also suggested that a modest grant be set up for government to provide grants to Jewish
02:15Australians and creative organisations to re-engage Jewish Australians.
02:20She argues that creative industries have continued to exclude Jewish Australians from spaces and she said that this could help
02:29re-engage them.
02:30She also has suggested potentially grants, the powerful grants to be terminated for recipients that engage in anti-Semitic conduct.
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