State of South Australia adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

The State of South Australia has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

On Thursday, the Upper House of South Australia’s Legislative Council voted fifteen to four in favour of a motion put forward by the One Nation MP, Sarah Game.

Members of the Labour Party and the Liberals voted to adopt the Definition, while the Greens and members from the SA-Best Party voted against it.

Ms Game said that there is an “obvious necessity for administrators and governments at all levels to have the framework in which to identify antisemitism here in South Australia…it’s the right thing to do, morally and ethically.”

Jewish life in South Australia dates back to at least the 1830s, with a synagogue established in Adelaide in 1850 and religious classes beginning twelve years later.

Today, 561 people identify themselves as being of Jewish descent, making up 0.03% of a total population of just under 1.8 million.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. South Australia joins a growing list of national governments and public bodies to use the Definition.