RCASC TAKING THE PISS
The decision to deny the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network the right to appear before the inquiry into antisemitism says a great deal about the direction and credibility of the process. If a commission is genuinely interested in truth, social cohesion, and understanding the causes of rising tensions in Australia, then excluding the country’s most prominent Palestinian advocacy organisations makes little sense. It creates the impression that some voices are welcome, while others are to be treated as inherently suspect or illegitimate.
What makes this shitfuckery even more annoying is that none of the loudest public advocates for the inquiry appears willing to object. Figures such as Jillian Segal, the Leiblers, Alex Ryvchin, along with politicians like Ley, Leeser, Henderson, Cah, and Taylor, who enthusiastically pushed for a royal commission, and, of course, loudmouth media types like Markson, Credlin, and Bolt have had nothing to say about the exclusion. Not a word about fairness, balance, or the importance of hearing from all affected communities. That silence is difficult to ignore and very telling.
If an inquiry into racism begins by excluding Palestinian voices, many Australians will understandably question whether the goal is combating genuine hatred or simply protecting certain political narratives from scrutiny. Palestinian Australians and their supporters have repeatedly faced intimidation, smears, job losses, event cancellations, and attempts to equate criticism of the Israeli state with bigotry. Whether one agrees with every position taken by Palestinian advocacy groups is beside the point. In any democratic society, they have the right to be heard — especially in an inquiry directly connected to issues that affect them.
A credible commission cannot operate as a one-way conversation. It cannot claim moral authority while silencing dissenting or inconvenient perspectives. The refusal to allow the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network to appear risks reinforcing the growing perception that accusations of antisemitism are sometimes being weaponised politically to suppress criticism of Israel and marginalise pro-Palestinian advocacy. If those calling for the inquiry truly cared about justice, transparency, and social harmony, they would be the first to condemn the exclusion, not quietly look the other way.
