By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
INTERNATIONAL
Nearly a month after the Bondi Beach massacre which took 15 innocent lives on the first day of Chanukah, the Australian government has drafted legislation to combat antisemitism.
Peter Wertheim, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, welcomed the proposed legislation as a first step toward creating a safer, more unified Australia.
“Overall, the draft legislation is a significant step in the right direction, but it still suffers some significant shortcomings which will limit its effectiveness,” Wertheim, an attorney, said.
A positive development “is the new serious vilification offense,” Wertheim said. “A prosecutor will now only need to prove that an accused person has knowingly promoted racial hatred rather than be required to prove incitement of an audience. Many previous hate speech cases failed to result in prosecutions because of the impossibility of proving incitement beyond reasonable doubt.”
However, he said, the proposed legislation has four notable shortcomings:
–“Firstly, the offence is limited to the promotion of hatred of others on the basis of their race. Promoting hatred on the basis of other inherent attributes such as gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability will not be proscribed. People who are targeted for hatred on the basis of these other attributes are equally entitled to protection.”
–“Secondly, the proposed offence does not cover instances where a person recklessly promotes racial hatred. Past experience has shown that requiring proof of intention beyond reasonable doubt might be setting the bar too high.”
–“Thirdly, the proposed offence would exempt quoting or referencing religious texts for the purposes of religious teaching. The entire concept of a religious exemption for racial hatred is a relic of outdated thinking. None of the world’s recognized religions promotes racial hatred knowingly and deliberately, and to the extent that any religion were to do so, it would be thoroughly shameful. Invoking religion as an excuse to dehumanize and mistreat others simply on the basis of who they are, must surely be a thing of the past. Religions are at their best when they promote love, understanding and mutual respect, consistent with their teachings about the sanctity of human life and the inviolability of human dignity.”
“Fourthly, the serious vilification offence will only be established if a prosecutor can prove that the conduct would put a reasonable member of the targeted group in fear for their safety. This requirement goes beyond what is stipulated in the International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, on which the offence is based. Guilt or innocence should be decided solely on the basis of the conduct of the offender; the impact on the victim should be relevant only in determining the sentence.”
Wertheim also said that the proposed legislation makes inadequate provisions for “how such groups currently operate — using informal structures and intermediaries, and exploiting charitable, professional, digital, financial and community infrastructures and loopholes, to spread hate and sow the seeds of violence.”
Similarly, authorities in the State of New York and the nation of Canada have proposed legislation to stem the global tide of antisemitism. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has suggested protesters be kept 25 feet from a synagogue’s or mosque’s property line. Canada’s governments is formulating the Combatting Hate Act, which among other provisions, would make it a crime “to intimidate and obstruct people from accessing places of worship, as well as schools, community centres and other places primarily used by an identifiable group.”
NATIONAL
Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s peace envoy, will be awarded an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University for his efforts in the cause of Mideast peace, it was announced on Tuesday by Bar-Ilan’s President, Prof. Arie Zaban, at a JPost Summit in Miami.
Zaban said: “Mr. Witkoff’s moral leadership helped bring an end to Israel’s longest and bitterest war, the return of the hostages, opening the door to normalization and regional peace. His unique ability to meet grief with true empathy allowed him to be welcomed in places where others have failed. The ripples of Mr. Witkoff’s influence mobilized the international community for the values of freedom, justice, and security in our region.”
Bar-Ilan awards honorary doctorates to individuals and organizations who’ve made a profound impact on the State of Israel and global society. Past awardees include Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, and former Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Ariel Sharon.
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Letty Cottin Pogrebin, in her newsletter, calls Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey “a powerhouse defender of his city and advocate for the public good. She admiringly quotes Frey as saying federal invasions are ““bad for business, bad for safety, bad for democracy, and we want them out. They’ve kidnapped people, disrupted lives, made it necessary to close the schools, and made the city less safe. . .Fifty percent of the shootings thus far this year in Minneapolis have been by ICE.”
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STATE & LOCAL
Attorney Alan Dershowitz, who has advised President Donald Trump, that the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution isn’t airtight in its prohibition against presidents serving a third term, has inspired legislation to guarantee that Trump doesn’t run again in 2028.
State Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), describing that theory as a “cockamamie scheme,” says the constitutional prohibition against third terms is straightforward enough but, just in case, he wants the state to adopt a “belt and suspenders” approach to upholding the ban on Trump running for a third term.
CalMatters reports that Umberg has sponsored Senate Bill 46, which would require a candidate to affirm under oath that he or she is constitutionally qualified for the office. The measure would also make it illegal for California’s Secretary of State to place on the ballot any candidate who is not constitutionally qualified to run for president.
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County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer was reelected on Tuesday by her colleagues to serve as chair of the County Board of Supervisors. Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe and Chair Pro Tempore Paloma Aguirre were chosen to continue serving in their current positions.
Although the Board of Supervisors technically is non-partisan, Lawson-Remer, Steppe, and Aguirre are all Democrats. The other two Supervisors, Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson are Republicans.
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San Diego City Councilmembers Sean Elo-Rivera and Joe LaCava, the council’s president, held a news conference on Tuesday with representatives of environmental organizations to oppose the federal government’s plans to lease offshore drilling sites in U.S. ocean waters. Afterwards, the entire City Council voted unanimously to inform the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management that it strongly opposes oil drilling. Elo-Rivera commented: “Offshore drilling would be devastating for San Diego’s communities. It puts our coastline, local jobs, public health, and climate at risk—all so oil companies can squeeze a little more profit out of our waters. A single spill could permanently damage neighborhoods and livelihoods that generations of San Diegans depend on. As a coastal city, we have a responsibility to protect the people who live and work here, both today and in the future. We must not sacrifice them for the benefit of fossil fuel corporations that don’t care about and won’t bear the consequences.”
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World