ADC News
June 2008

A federal public service employee was initially refused a job this month because she was unable to work late winter afternoons because of her observance of the Jewish sabbath. The issue was resolved after discussions with the ADC but it raises bigger questions. Does this constitute discrimination? Can employees expect adjustments to their work conditions to enable religious observance?
For many years employees have taken sick leave for holy days and negotiated adjustments on a case by case basis. But now the Victorian Equal Opportunity review is considering whether adjustments to work conditions should be required under anti-discrimination law.
The ADC and Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) have lodged a submission arguing the case for reasonable adjustments. We have also supported extended powers to enable the Equal Opportunity Commission to initiate research and investigations.
To read the full submission, go to the ADC website.

Human Rights activist Professor Anne Bayefsky promises a strong attack on the UN's human rights failures when she speaks in Australia in early July.
Professor Bayefsky will deliver the Gandel ADC Oration entitled "Human Rights as a vehicle for Antisemitism" in Melbourne on 6 July and in Sydney on 8 July.
In recent articles Professor Bayefsky has described UN preparations for Durban II, the UN conference on racism as a "hatefest" and a "Jewish and Western bashing exercise."
To hear her oration, get tickets here.

Billboards pitching a program for Prime Television have been removed after complaints from the Jewish community.
The billboards advertising a program entitled Madmen: The Glory Years of Advertising contained the slogan "Advertising Agency Seeks: Clients. All business considered, even from Jews."
The billboards were removed after a complaint from New Zealand Jewish Council chairman Geoff Levy.
But the same advertisement appears in the latest Time magazine, 26,000 of which will remain on sale until next month.
Prime spokesman Tony O'Brien said the campaign, which was designed to mirror "archaic" 1960s' attitudes prevalent in the show. He apologised for the advertisements and said an apology would run in the next edition of Time.

Opposition to the Federal Government's plans to allow trading of water rights is being utilised as an issue by far right organisations.
Both the League of Rights and the One Nation party have voiced their opposition to the water plans in recent publications.
They characterise the Government's plan to pipe water unused by landowners to other parts of the country as an attack on individual rights.
The League of Rights weekly newspaper On Target described the water plan is part of a ruling coalition of a "Criminal-Financial Overworld". One Nation similarly describes it as "big money makers and shakers of the world...in a grab for raw minerals".
Federal Government sources are concerned that these groups may attempt to hijack the issue.

About 25 Victorian MPs and staff, including Leader of the Opposition Ted Bailleau, visited the Jewish Holocaust Museum recently for an educational tour. The visit was organised by Jewish MP Marsha Thomson and included both Liberal and Labor MPs. Ms Thomson said the visit had created great interest and several MPs who had not been able to attend had expressed interest in another visit. She hoped to make it an annual event. Member for Caulfield Helen Shardey said she was delighted so many MPs had attended. Holocaust Museum director Bernard Korbman spoke about the importance of vigilance in responding to issues around racism and diversity. The group also met with ADC research director Deborah Stone and JCCV executive director Geoffrey Zygier.

Australia First Party NSW chairman Jim Saleam has launched an attack on Daniel Pipes, founder and director of the Middle East Forum. In an article on the Australia First website Saleam said Pipes, who recently visited Australia was purposefully playing upon white Australians' apprehension regarding Islamic immigration to promote his interest in "Israel First". Salaem said America's false engagement against Moslem terrorism was really to guarantee Middle Eastern oil supplies and also to rescue Israel under the pretext of fighting terrorists. Saleam wants an Australia that supports "Neither Islam nor Israel".

3CR Community Radio program "Palestine Remembered' used the words of the notorious "antisemitic Jew" Bernard Freedman to promote the Palestinian view of the Balfour declaration in an April program. Host Yousef Alreemawi, read Freedman words blaming the Jews for bringing the United States into World War I in exchange for the Balfour declaration, which promised Jews a homeland in Palestine. Alreemawi simply changed the word "Jew" to "Zionist" and re-ran the traditional conspiracy theory blaming Jewish/Zionist interests for the world war.

The May-June edition of the Queensland-based publication Hard Evidence has revived the discredited work of Fred A Leuchter. Leuchter claims he is an engineer who has proved the gas chambers were used only for fumigation and never for extermination.
Leuchter was called as an expert witness in the 1988 trial of Ernst Zundel in Canada but his report was dismissed as lacking credibility and he was subsequently charged with practicing engineer without a licence. Hard Evidence continues to promote his claims, which are clearly discredited, as this backgrounder by the US ADL shows.

ABOUT ADC NEWS

ADC News is a quarterly electronic publication reporting on the ADC's initiatives to fight racism and antisemitism and monitoring the claims and publications of individuals and groups who challenge Australia's fair and multicultural society.

ADC News is published by the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), a community organisation dedicated to opposing antisemitism and racism and promoting respect and tolerance.

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