Jews Against the Occupation ’48 (JAO48) was one of 66 submissions published by the NSW government, and we were subsequently invited to be questioned by the Antisemitism in New South Wales inquiry on May 19.

Chris Rath, Liberal Legislative Council (LC) member and vocal supporter of Israel, had initiated the committee via a motion to the LC last December 7, which led to the inquiry forming on February 12. Rath is on record condemning the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and he has made controversial public comparisons between 2025 Sydney and 1930s Germany.

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Interestingly, Rath also supports the inclusion of Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides in educational curricula, although it appears his concern for genocide is selective. Rath’s inaugural speech in 2022 mentioned his connections with prominent leaders of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, such as Darren Bark and Lesli Berger.

This background set the stage for our experience at the hearing, which began with questioning Zionist group representatives, including the Australian Jewish Association (AJA). The public hearing was open and drew around 20 like-minded pro-Palestine attendees. Notably, no Zionist group had supporters in the room.

I arrived at 11am to support friends from the Coalition of Women for Justice and Peace (CW4J&P) and the Jewish Women 4 Peace Action Ready Group (JW4PARG).

Labor MP Stephen Lawrence, a member of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, asked most of the questions. He was methodical and his line of inquiry was backed by documents. Earlier he had questioned the AJA, grilling it on its support for ethnic cleansing and antisemitism towards groups........

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