Beyond Exceptionalism: HfHR ANZ Submits Recommendations to Australia’s Royal Commission into Antisemitism

Download the full submission: Beyond Exceptionalism: A Whole-of-Society Framework for Combating Antisemitism, Racism and Social Division in Australia‍ ‍Submitted by Hindus for Human Rights Australia & New Zealand

Hindus for Human Rights Australia & New Zealand has submitted a formal statement to Australia’s Royal Commission into Antisemitism, calling for a strong, principled, and whole-of-society response to antisemitism, racism, and social division.

Our submission begins from a clear moral position: antisemitism is real, dangerous, and must be confronted unequivocally. Jewish Australians deserve safety, dignity, and belonging. But we also argue that antisemitism cannot be effectively addressed in isolation from the wider patterns of racism, prejudice, exclusion, misinformation, and social fragmentation affecting Australian society.

The strongest protection against antisemitism is not exceptionalism. It is solidarity.

At a time when global conflicts are reverberating through local communities, Australia needs an anti-racism framework that protects all communities equally. Jewish Australians, Muslim Australians, First Nations peoples, caste-marginalised communities, migrants, refugees, and other culturally diverse communities should not be placed in competition with one another for recognition or protection. No community should have to prove its suffering by diminishing another’s.

Our submission urges the Royal Commission to recommend a comprehensive national framework rooted in fairness, democratic pluralism, institutional trust, and social cohesion.

Why a Whole-of-Society Approach Matters

Australia is facing more than a single-community crisis. It is facing a broader social cohesion challenge. The rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Indigenous racism, caste discrimination, anti-Asian racism, anti-Arab racism, anti-African racism, and other forms of exclusion are not isolated problems. They are symptoms of a society under strain.

When communities believe that institutions protect some groups more consistently than others, trust erodes. When racism is treated as a hierarchy, social division deepens. But when every community sees its dignity and safety reflected in public policy, democratic resilience becomes stronger.

As the submission argues, the safety of Jewish Australians cannot be separated from the safety of Muslim Australians. The struggle against caste discrimination cannot be separated from the struggle against racism. Social cohesion is built when every community sees itself included in the nation’s commitment to justice.

Key Recommendations

HfHR ANZ’s submission makes thirteen recommendations to the Royal Commission, including:

• Immediate implementation of Australia’s National Anti-Racism Framework, with adequate funding and accountability.

• Adoption of a whole-of-society anti-racism strategy that addresses antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Indigenous racism, caste discrimination, and all forms of racial and religious discrimination through a shared framework.

• Adoption of the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism’s definition of antisemitism instead of the IHRA definition, particularly because of the need to distinguish antisemitism from legitimate criticism of states, governments, and political ideologies.

• Creation of a national racism reporting mechanism.

• Mandatory cultural competency training for law enforcement, public institutions, and frontline services.

• Explicit recognition of caste discrimination within Australian anti-racism frameworks.

• Investment in interfaith and intercultural dialogue, youth leadership, media literacy, and women’s intercultural leadership.

• Long-term operational funding for community-based anti-racism organisations.

• Establishment of a permanent National Social Cohesion Implementation Roundtable.

• Development of a National Democratic Resilience and Social Cohesion Strategy to address the domestic effects of international conflict, online polarisation, and identity-based hate.

A Hindu Voice for Pluralism and Anti-Racism

Hindus for Human Rights Australia & New Zealand was founded in 2022 as a progressive Hindu organisation committed to democracy, pluralism, human rights, and anti-racism. Working across Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, and Adelaide, HfHR ANZ has built partnerships with more than 25 civil society and community organisations.

Our work includes anti-racism advocacy, caste discrimination advocacy, interfaith engagement, peacebuilding, and contributions to Australia’s National Anti-Racism Framework consultations.

As Hindus committed to justice, we know that religious identity must never be used to justify exclusion, hierarchy, or hatred. We also know that communities are safest when they stand together.

This submission is offered not only as a policy document, but as a call for moral clarity: combating antisemitism must be part of the broader work of building a society where every community belongs.

Download the full submission here:
Beyond Exceptionalism: A Whole-of-Society Framework for Combating Antisemitism, Racism and Social Division in Australia
Submitted to the Royal Commission into Antisemitism by Hindus for Human Rights Australia & New Zealand.