Media Coverage:
Sydney Morning Herald
Herald Sun
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), Australia’s leading organisation fighting hatred in all its forms, has expressed its concern about CFMEU Victorian secretary John Setka’s comparison of the federal government’s proposed new National Building Code to Nazi Germany.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chair of The Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), issued the following statement:
“Once again, we see the surfacing and the misguided deployment of Holocaust equations. I have repeatedly spoken out against those who trivialise the Holocaust through the utilization of such loaded and inflammatory analogies that have no place in our civil discourse. No government policy should ever be equated with the Nazis or Hitler, and such grossly inappropriate references do an enormous disservice to history, and are deeply hurtful to the memory of the millions of Jews and non-Jews that were murdered, as well to Holocaust survivors and their families. Additionally, such cheapening rhetoric devalues the courage and sacrifices made by veterans during WWII to defeat the Third Reich. While John Setka has every right to disagree with and to criticise the government’s National Building Code, it is simply unacceptable to draw any links between Hitler’s evil deeds and the government’s legislative agenda. Such thoughtless remarks poison what is a serious debate, and taint our national conversation. We call John Setka to apologise and say to all public figures and officials to stop invoking the Holocaust in an effort to score political points.”
The Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on (03) 9272 5677