When the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion holds its remaining blocks of public hearings between late June and the end of August, they are likely to trigger some awkward questions and divisive debates.

The commission will probe social media and the university sector. It is also set to delve into the legacy media and the arts.

In each area, there have been notable failures in dealing with and combating antisemitism. But also, issues of freedom of speech and other rights are integral to them.

It was imperative to have the post-Bondi royal commission, initially resisted by Anthony Albanese. But there is no getting away from the fact the evidence to come will not just highlight but could even exacerbate the strains in our fractured society. Indeed, the danger to cohesion was one of Albanese’s objections to having the commission.

At the worst, there is the outside risk it could increase antisemitism. We saw an appalling example of this when Jewish witnesses who recounted their experiences at the earlier hearings found themselves later subjected to abuse on social media. A man has been charged over offensive emails allegedly sent to a witness.

This risk is heightened because, since the royal commission was established, the conflict in the Middle East has widened, with the launch of the United States-Israeli war against Iran.

That has increased local criticisms of Israel, further blurring the crucial distinction between, on the one hand, criticisms of the Israeli government’s policy and, on the other, denial of the legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel.

The Middle East........

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