The ADC, Australia’s leading civil rights organisation countering hatred in all its forms, has expressed its deep concern about the ABC’s failure to remove anti-Semitic remarks posted on its Facebook page, five weeks after they first appeared. This lack of action is inconsistent with the ABC’s own policy that requires all such comments be vetted before being made available for viewing. Though the ADC had sighted the repulsive, hateful posts, it has decided not to make them public.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, issued the following statement:
“I am profoundly troubled by the staggering level of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel invective. As we witness a disturbing surge in Jewish- hatred that has often resulted in violence, and a global campaign to radicalise and recruit young people, the failure by the ABC to remove these frightening slanders risks normalising such ugly sentiments and sending a message that it’s OK to demean and degrade Jews. It’s really time for the ABC to walk the walk and to put in place effective monitoring systems to ensure that its popular platform is not being hijacked and used as a weapon to spread racist speech. The ABC will not get a free pass on this issue, and we call on management to take the moral ground and to deal with such cancerous incitement and defamation in a timely manner. The ABC has a vital role to play in countering the concerted effort to demonise Jews that is spiraling out of control and it’s time that it started doing so.”
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on 9272 5677.