To: Premier of Victoria, Jacinta Allan

We are Australian Jews who say: our safety is not protected by silencing peaceful protest. 

We call on you to stop exploiting antisemitic incidents experienced by our communities, including the horrific arson attack on East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, and the firebombing of Adass Israel Synagogue, to push anti-democratic laws.

These laws would ban face coverings at peaceful protests, give police more powers to intimidate and use violence against protesters, and ban peaceful protests outside places of worship. None of these measures will do anything to stop racist violence.

These laws are not about our safety— they are about stopping dissent. Doing this in our names fuels the flames of antisemitism against us, by pitting our communities against peaceful protesters, including those protesting for Palestinian freedom and justice. 

Protests in support of Palestine and against Israel’s war crimes are not antisemitic. By labelling them as such you are undermining real efforts to address antisemitism.

Our tradition teaches us to "pursue justice, and only justice" (Deut. 16:20). That means speaking up against injustice, no matter how uncomfortable.

We call on the Victorian Government to:

• Protect democratic rights for all 
• Drop anti-protest laws
• Stop equating protest with antisemitism
• Engage with Jewish voices who support Palestinian rights

Link for more information on these laws and to also write to your MP.

If you want to donate to the Jewish Council of Australia you can do so here. The money collected by change.org does not go to us and we do not need you to contribute any money to promoting this petition.